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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Strike due to hit rail passengers | Strike due to hit rail passengers |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Thousands of train passengers will have to find alternative ways of travelling across the Midlands because of a 24-hour strike. | Thousands of train passengers will have to find alternative ways of travelling across the Midlands because of a 24-hour strike. |
| The action by conductors on Central Trains means there will be no services throughout the day. | The action by conductors on Central Trains means there will be no services throughout the day. |
| But the company said it hoped to provide a reduced service on two other days involving industrial action - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. | But the company said it hoped to provide a reduced service on two other days involving industrial action - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. |
| The RMT union said the dispute was over holiday pay and working arrangements. | The RMT union said the dispute was over holiday pay and working arrangements. |
| Main operator | Main operator |
| Earlier in the week, talks to try to stop the three days of strikes broke down when the RMT rejected an increased pay offer. | Earlier in the week, talks to try to stop the three days of strikes broke down when the RMT rejected an increased pay offer. |
| The company said it could not offer any more than the £236 it had already put forward to work on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve. | |
| Central Trains conductors said they were striking over the "imposition of centralised rostering and Christmas and New Year pay arrangements". | Central Trains conductors said they were striking over the "imposition of centralised rostering and Christmas and New Year pay arrangements". |
| The firm is the main operator in the West Midlands and services stretch to Norwich, Liverpool, Cardiff and Doncaster. | The firm is the main operator in the West Midlands and services stretch to Norwich, Liverpool, Cardiff and Doncaster. |
| Central Trains spokeswoman Rachel Webster said the company had tried hard to stave off industrial action. | Central Trains spokeswoman Rachel Webster said the company had tried hard to stave off industrial action. |
| "On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day we are looking at how many services we may be able to run," she said. | "On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day we are looking at how many services we may be able to run," she said. |
| RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the action was being taken not just because of Christmas payments but over the implementation of rosters. | RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the action was being taken not just because of Christmas payments but over the implementation of rosters. |
| "The reality is that the money's not satisfactory to our members, and you just can't go along as an employer and impose rosters," he said. | "The reality is that the money's not satisfactory to our members, and you just can't go along as an employer and impose rosters," he said. |