TRAIN passengers in Oxfordshire may face summer disruptions after the Rail workers union claimed they’re not being paid enough to deal with the Olympics.

The RMT said it was balloting members for strike action over a First Great Western (FGW) pay offer for working during the London sporting event this summer.

Connections between Oxford, Didcot and London would all potentially be affected if a strike goes ahead.

The union represents 400 First Great Western staff who are vital to the smooth running of services, including drivers and guards.

RMT members at Greater Anglia will also vote on whether to take industrial action.

An RMT spokesman would not give dates, but said it is hoped the dispute would be resolved before the games begin on July 27.

He would not give details of the offer, but said a one-off £700 payment offered to Heathrow Express workers was a “benchmark”.

The spokesman said the union expects a resounding ‘yes’ vote in the ballot, for which no date has been announced.

General secretary Bob Crow said: “RMT members rightly expect that their extra commitment and work over the Olympic Games period will be rewarded in line with other Olympics payments that have been negotiated elsewhere.

“The stance of FGW on this matter shows nothing but contempt and disrespect of our members.

“We now have no option but to move to an urgent ballot for both strike action and action short of a strike to reinforce our case.”

Stanley Skoglund, spokesman for the OxRailAction group, said: “This is a labour dispute which has yet to materialise in disruption for passengers so it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.”

If train services were to go on strike during the busy Olympic period, then local bus companies may see a surge in demand.

Stagecoach Oxfordshire commercial manager Robert Williams said: “The impact of the potential strike will depend on how many trains FGW is forced to cancel.

“The Oxford Tube is an obvious alternative for travel into London and we'll be monitoring the situation closely to make sure that we can provide sufficient capacity to cope.”

An FGW spokesman said: “We have not received any official notification from the RMT about their intention to ballot, so it is difficult to comment specifically at this stage.

“However, we are willing to discuss their concerns with a view to reaching a successful conclusion.”

He said fewer than nine extra services would run each day during the games, a rise of under one per cent.

He said: “The vast majority of our staff will come to work during the Olympics and do what they do every other day of the year.

He said extra cash was being sought “regardless of whether they are affected by additional Olympics passengers or not”.