Lockerbie rail passengers face Christmas chaos due to Avanti West Coast strike action in dispute over rest day working

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Lockerbie rail passengers are set for Christmas chaos after train managers announced strike action over the festive period.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Avanti West Coast are set to walk out on December 22, 23 and 29.The dispute between the union and the operator – which runs services through Lockerbie – is over rest day working, with services on the three days of industrial action set to be busy and “reduced significantly”.RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: “Avanti West Coast’s proposals have been decisively rejected by our train managers, sending a clear message to management that the current arrangements are unacceptable.“Train managers are being treated unfairly compared to senior managers, who receive significant payments for covering these roles.“Our members have had enough, and this strike action demonstrates their determination to win a fair deal.

Click here for more news and sport from Dumfries and Galloway. “It’s time for Avanti to put forward serious proposals that reflect the vital contribution of our train managers to the railway.“We remain ready to reach a negotiated settlement and we urge management to show they are serious about resolving this dispute.”A revised timetable is due to be issued by Saturday and customers who have tickets for December 22 and 23 can use them on other services between December 16 and 24.Those with tickets for December 29 can use them between December 28 and January 3.An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “At one of our busiest and most important times of the year, when our customers should be making journeys to visit family or friends during the holiday period, they will now face significant disruption because of these strikes.“We are