Network Rail employees, who are members of UK-based trade unions Unite and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), are set to join the rail strike over pay-related issues.
Unite members, who are employed by Network Rail as electric control room operatives, will walkout along with other rail unions on 18 August and 20 August.
Workers from control rooms in Brighton, York, Paddock Wood, Raynes Park, Romford, Selhurst Road, and York will participate in the strike.
The electric control room operatives, who are engaged in the management and control of power supply to the rail network, have not secured a pay hike for three years.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham: “Our members played a crucial role in keeping the rail network functioning throughout the pandemic, ensuring that essential workers and goods could be transported. The thanks they get for their sacrifices from their employers is a derisory offer that amounts to a kick in the teeth.
“Unite is entirely dedicated to defending the jobs, pay, and conditions of its members. Our members at Network Rail will receive the union’s total support until this dispute is resolved and the workers receive a fair pay deal.”
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By GlobalDataOver 2,500 TSSA members, including controllers, will go on the strike on 18 and 20 August.
The union said that its decision came after lack of clear assurances on job security and working practices.
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Our members are simply asking for basic fair treatment: not to be sacked from their jobs, a fair pay rise in the face of a cost-of-living-crisis and no race to the bottom on terms and conditions.
“No one takes strike action lightly, but we have been left with little choice. Our General Grades and Controllers are a force to be reckoned with. Without them the rail network does not run, it is that simple.”
Earlier this week, another British trade union Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) stated that London Underground and Overground transport workers will be on a 24-hour strike on 19 August.
Hitachi Rail employees started a three-day strike on 1 August to address conflicts over wages, leave entitlement, shift duration, as well as breaks.
