Rail signal workers back strike action

Railway signal workers have narrowly voted in favour of strikes in a dispute over jobs, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said today. RMT officials said 54% of the union's members had backed strikes, with 77% supporting industrial action short of a strike. Turnout for the ballot was 71%. The union is refusing to rule out the possibility of a national strike – which would be the first for 16 years – taking place over the Easter bank holiday weekend, bringing the rail network to a standstill at one of the busiest times of the year. Network Rail responded by saying the RMT would be "disappointed with the weakness of the result". The company said the union would be "foolish" to strike. Robin Gisby, the Network Rail director of operations and customer services, said "less than a third" of those balloted had voted to go on strike. "Despite its militancy, the RMT would be foolish to move forward with any action that would cause misery to millions of passengers and damage the recovering British economy," he said. "This dispute is nothing to do with safety or the job reductions for the maintenance teams – that is a separate issue. "We have a handful of local issues under debate with our signalling people – for example, we are asking small numbers of signallers, who have average earnings of almost £50,000, to move from a three-day week to a four-day week. "Contingency planning is well under way in the event that there is a strike, but we urge the union to get back round the negotiating table." Around 5,500 signal workers have been balloted in a row over redundancies at Network Rail. The RMT executive will meet on Thursday to consider its next move, but the union is understood to be giving Network Rail time to continue negotiations. Maintenance workers from the RMT have already voted to strike , and the union has said maintenance and signal staff could strike together. Today, the RMT's general secretary, Bob Crow, said the results of the vote showed members "back the union's campaign against Network Rail's cuts programme". "Nobody should be under any illusions about just how determined RMT members are to win our fight against Network Rail's cuts programme and to stop this reckless gamble with rail safety," he said. He added that the Office of Rail Regulation had said the proposed measure would have "severe safety implications out on the tracks". "Over 150 MPs have signed an early day motion opposing Network Rail's cuts plans and have urged the government to intervene to call a halt to this jobs carnage on the tracks," Crow said. "RMT remains committed to reaching a negotiated settlement with Network Rail based on protecting safety-critical jobs and safe working practices. "With the combination of the strike mandates [and] political and public pressure, the focus is now on the company to pull back from the brink and reverse their cuts programme." Michael Roberts, the chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said a strike was likely to be unpopular with rail users. "This would be the first national strike for 16 years and, if it goes ahead, it will exasperate passengers," he added. "The priority for train companies is to make things as straightforward as they can for passengers. Operators are liaising closely with Network Rail to establish, as soon as possible, the consequences of a possible strike for passengers." While Network Rail believes it can withstand a maintenance strike for at least a week with only some line closures, it has admitted a signallers strike could bring the busiest sections of the network to a halt because the main signalling centres, which employ around 3,000 people, would not be staffed. Last week, Crow said it "could well be" that the signal workers timed their strike to match that of Network Rail maintenance staff. He said the maintenance workers' vote, which saw 77% in favour of striking on a 65% turnout, reflected safety concerns after Network Rail's decision to restructure its maintenance division. Network Rail's proposals include 1,500 redundancies, the majority of them voluntary.