Network Rail staff vote for strike action and could walkout over Easter

Network Rail maintenance workers could walkout over the Easter period after voting in favour of strike action.

The ballot by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), over Network Rail’s plans to cut up to 1,500 maintenance jobs and change working practices, received a 77% vote in favour of strike action.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said: “Nobody should be under any illusions about just how determined RMT members are to win this dispute and to stop this reckless gamble with rail safety.”

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But Network Rail said its proposals would modernise the UK’s railways, the BBC has reported.

The rail operator said: “The way the railway is maintained and operated needs to change. Work practices that date back to the steam age should no longer have a place on a modern railway. We cannot allow the unions to hold this country to ransom.”