Wabtec Hexthorpe: More than 200 rail maintenance workers to strike

A series of walkouts are planned in a row over pay and conditions

Over 200 rail workers in Doncaster have voted to strike over plans to "fire and rehire" them on poorer conditions.

Members of the RMT and Unite unions, employed by rail maintenance firm Wabtec in Hexthorpe, will walk out for four days from 10 June.

The unions said the new contracts would see "breaks cut and staff working extra hours for no extra pay".

Wabtec said it was "disappointed", with 70% of workers having agreed to new working practices and a pay increase.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the company was "the latest in the line of bad bosses seeking to use the abhorrent practice of 'fire and rehire' to attack workers and cut pay".

"Wabtec is trying to bully staff to sign up for markedly inferior wages and conditions," she added.

US-owned Wabtec is an international manufacturer and supplier of equipment for the railway industry. The workers in Doncaster maintain and repair rail stock, including carriages and wheels.

Unions say the proposals tarnish the proud history of manufacturing in Doncaster where the Flying Scotsman was made

The strikes will impact services for a number of companies Wabtec serves, including Angel Trains, VTG, Nacco Group, Freightliner KFA, GB Railfreight, DB Schencker and Siemens.

The company said talks to bring in flexible working had been going on for over a year and included a "substantial" pay rise.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the company had "behaved appallingly" and wanted members to "pay for the company's financial problems by firing staff and rehiring them on inferior wages and conditions.

"Wabtec bosses should be ashamed of tarnishing Doncaster's proud history of manufacturing, with predecessors building the Flying Scotsman and Mallard locomotives," he said.

'Sobering facts'

In a statement, a Wabtec spokesperson said: "We are disappointed with the union's rejection of our two-year 8.25% wage increase proposal, which was not balloted by their members.

"We have spoken to employees directly, which has resulted in more than 70% of the workforce voluntarily agreeing to the new working practices and the pay increase."

The company's spokesperson added that management had "shared sobering facts" with unions over the past 16 months and had proposed "a pathway to preserve work at the plant".

"The majority of our employees are clearly in support of this plan.

"In the end, union leadership decided they would rather disregard the best interests of their members and would not support Wabtec in building a strong future for the Doncaster workforce, where we have been a significant employer for over 170 years."

Union members are expected walk out in a series of strikes - the first from 10-13 June.

A second round of strike action from 27 June to 3 July was also expected to take place, with more strikes set to be announced, unions said.