Virgin train workers have voted for strike action, photo Phil Scott

Virgin train workers have voted for strike action, photo Phil Scott   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

RMT members at Virgin Trains West Coast have voted by 91% for strike action in response to a divisive pay offer.

Following years of highly profitable activity, Virgin bosses offered drivers £500 on top of their percentage pay rise to drop their claim for a one hour reduction in the working week without loss of pay.

However everyone else has been asked to ‘self-finance’ any reduction by giving up other hard-won terms and conditions.

This is a disgusting way to treat staff and exposes Virgin management’s ‘first and second class’ attitude to different grades of staff.

RMT balloted its members at Virgin and this resulted in the impressive result on a 82% turnout, easily surpassing the scandalous minimum thresholds required by law.

A Socialist Party member in the RMT

This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 16 November 2017 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.