RMT members vote in favour of strike action across Network Rail and 13 train operating companies.
Image source, Getty Images
Railway workers in the RMT union have voted in favour of strike action across Network Rail and 13 train operating companies.
The strike ballot of National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers saw 89% vote in favour of a strike and 11% against.
Mick Lynch at RMT said “members want a decent pay rise, job security and no compulsory redundancies”.
The Department for Transport said strikes should be the last resort.
A spokesperson said: “It is hugely disappointing and premature that the RMT is calling for industrial action before even entering discussions.”
The union’s leaders will now decide when to call strikes which threaten massive travel disruption.
Network Rail, whose staff includes signallers, voted in favour of strike action and action short of strike.
RMT workers at 13 train companies also voted in favour. These were Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern Railway, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains.
GTR (including Gatwick Express) voted only for action short of a strike.
And Island line on the Isle of Wight voted against either.
Some 71% of RMT’s 40,000 members voted.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.