Rail users are being urged not to travel today on Chiltern Railways.

The rail company says it will not be running a service north of Banbury towards the West Midlands because of engineering work and industrial action.

It comes as rail disruption is set to continue with members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains set to go on strike.

TSSA union members at Great Western Railway will walk out from noon to 11.59am on Thursday, and at West Midlands Trains for 24 hours from noon until the same time on Thursday.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “After two years of virtual Christmases, the British public deserve better than to have their festive celebrations impacted by strikes.

“The Transport Secretary and rail minister have worked hard to facilitate a fair and reasonable offer, which two unions have accepted, and it is incredibly disappointing that some continue to strike.

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“We urge them to step back, reconsider and get back round the table, so we can start 2023 by ending this damaging dispute.”

Driving examiners will also launch a five-day strike on Wednesday (28 December) as part of escalating industrial action by civil servants in a dispute over pay, jobs and pensions.

The DVSA has confirmed that members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in 71 test centres in eastern England and the Midlands will walk out.

They are employed by the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) as driving examiners and local driving test managers.

The PCS union represents workers in a number of government departments. 

The strikes are due to take place on different dates in different parts of the country, meaning test centres in different areas will be affected on a rolling basis between mid-December and mid-January.

So far the list of affected centres includes Banbury and Oxford (Cowley) with action scheduled between Wednesday 4 January to Tuesday 10 January.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said of the examiners’ strike: “Our members have been offered a pay rise of just 2% at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is above 10%.

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“We know our action will cause widespread disruption and inconvenience to people in eastern England and the Midlands – hundreds of driving tests have been cancelled already in other parts of the country – but the Government is to blame.

“These strikes could be called off tomorrow if Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt put some money on the table.”

PCS members working as Border Force officers at Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow airports and the port of Newhaven will resume strikes on Wednesday (December 28) for four days in the same dispute.

 

 

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