Eurostar workers to strike in December with chaos expected before Christmas

Members of the RMT union will walk out from Eurostar on 16, 18, 22 and 23 December in a dispute over pay. The union has said the strike will affect travellers close to Christmas.

Some of the workers reportedly earn £10.66 an hour and have rejected a below inflation pay offer.

The union workers voted overwhelmingly for strike action and more than 100 staff are expected to take part.

General secretary of the RMT, Mick Lynch, said: “Eurostar security staff are essential to to the running of the Eurostar, and it is disgraceful they are not being paid a decent wage.

“We do not want to disrupt people’s travel plans, but our members need a pay rise, and this is the only way management will listen.”

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Lynch called on Mitie and Eurostar to come to a settlement with the RMT union as soon as possible.

He added: “They (the workers) work long, unsocial hours and a multimillion pound company like Mitie can easily afford to pay them decently for the essential work they do.”

A Mitie spokesperson said: ““We’re disappointed that RMT has made the decision to undertake industrial action, given we have already offered a significant pay increase and pay negotiations are ongoing. We remain open to continuing these discussions.

“In addition, we recently announced a £10m Winter Support package, designed to help the lowest paid colleagues across Mitie with the rising cost of living.

 “As always, our priority is to ensure that exceptional services are delivered as normal so that passengers are able to continue their journeys with minimal disruption.”

A Eurostar spokesperson said: “We are aware that negotiations between Mitie and the Unions are ongoing. If there is any impact on services we will update customers as soon as possible.”

The UK’s railways are also facing disruption this December with more strike action planned for the coming weeks.

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The RMT has confirmed strike action on Network Rail and workers will strike on December 13-14, December 16-17, January 3-4 and January 6-7.

London commuters are also likely to face December chaos with strike action due to impact seven bus routes.

Drivers in the Unite union at two companies, Abellio and Metroline, will strike from December 1 to December 3.

Transport for London said customers in north, west and south London should check before they travel and leave more time for journeys.

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Lynch later told The Independent that low pay had “got to end” and claimed the workers had been “exploited for a long time”.

He said that Eurostar would be “going to go back into profitability” and should step in to make sure their contractor provides a pay rise.

Emma Pearson tweeted: “Absolute solidarity with the RMT (and all other UK workers resorting to strike action) but if Eurostar could please agree a pay deal before I try to head home to the UK for Christmas that would be awesome.”

‘RobbieJones76’ tweeted: “Furious with these latest RMT strike. December 16 we’re taking my six year old to Disneyland Paris for her birthday.

“Train to London on 16th, then Eurostar to Disneyland on 17th, both at risk now. I’m not furious with RMT members though. It’s the rail companies I blame for this.”

British tourists are likely to face disruption if the Eurostar strikes go ahead with some unable to travel.

Eurostar passengers have faced lengthy queues in recent months at some peak periods.

Further industrial action continues to affect the UK as postal workers, university lecturers and sixth form college staff striked.

source: express.co.uk