Wabtec Hexthorpe: Rail maintenance staff to take further strike action

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

More than 200 rail workers are set to take further strike action over what union bosses have described as "abhorrent fire and rehire plans".

Members of RMT and Unite, employed by rail maintenance firm Wabtec in Hexthorpe, Doncaster, will walk out on 19 July.

Workers previously held nine days of action in June and earlier this month.

Wabtec said it was "disappointed", adding that 97% of staff had agreed to new working practices and a pay rise.

The unions said the new contracts would see "breaks cut and staff working extra hours for no extra pay", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A spokesperson said Wabtec was pressurising staff into signing new contracts, which offer "a two-year below inflation pay rise, in one-to-one meetings with management".

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch described it as "totally unacceptable" and said the company "behaved dreadfully from start to finish and now wants to fire staff and rehire them on inferior wages and conditions".

A series of walkouts have already taken place in June and earlier this month in a row over pay and conditions

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Wabtec's abhorrent fire and rehire plans seek to make Doncaster's workers worse off, working longer for less, for a company that has billions in the bank.

"Our members have no alternative but to shut this site down completely until the company steps back from these appalling and needless plans, which are a disgrace to Doncaster's proud rail history."

Wabtec maintain and repair rail stock, including carriages, wheels and bogies.

The planned industrial action will affect clients including LNER, Siemens, Hitachi, GB Railfreight and Freightliner.

A spokesperson for US-owned Wabtec has previously said: "Over the last 16 months, we have shared sobering facts with the Union on the need for flexibility and cost competitiveness and 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."