Strikes on Avanti West Coast and Northern

Catering workers on Avanti West Coast struck on 7 June, as part of a campaign to push back fatigue-inducing rosters that are wrecking work/life balance. On Saturday 8 June, outsourced gateline staff employed by Carlisle Support Services on the Northern Rail contract will also strike, demanding improved pay and conditions.

An RMT statement about the Avanti strike said: "Caterers at the company are deeply unhappy about short notice changes to shift patterns, job cuts and enforced overtime. RMT members are unable to fulfil or plan family commitments, attend medical appointments and that is having a detrimental affect on the workforce. Since Avanti took over the West Coast Main Line franchise from Virgin, it has been dogged by numerous industrial relations disputes, culminating in this latest stoppage on Friday June 7."

A union statement on the Northern Rail strike described Carlisle workers as "super-exploited", and said: "RMT members who are employed by Carlisle Support Services work at Northern Rail gate lines but are paid less than directly employed staff and cannot enter the company pension scheme or receive sick pay from their employer. The contractor also does not recognise RMT for the purposes of collective bargaining."

The strikes are indicative of a number of local, company-specific disputes continuing to simmer across the railways. RMT must find a way to integrate these disputes into an industry-wide fightback that takes on the Train Operating Companies and outsourced contractors.