Rail union action ‘will not hit busy tourist line’

BOSSES on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway have moved to assure passengers that industrial action by staff will not have an impact on the tourist line as it gears up for one of its busiest weekends of the year.

Members of the RMT Union who work at the heritage railway are to impose an overtime ban and work-to-rule from a minute after midnight tonight in a dispute over extra responsibilities which the union says carriage and wagon fitters are being asked to take on with no extra money.

The railway’s general manager Philip Benham says it is the first industrial action he can remember on the railway which contributes more than £30m a year to Yorkshire’s tourist economy, attracting tens of thousands of visitors each year.

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“We are very disappointed that we are in this situation,” Mr Benham said.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure this does not impact on the enjoyment of visitors to the railway.

“We are talking about a very small number of people – five staff have balloted which is less than five per cent of our paid staff.

“We also have our volunteers which are a fundamental part of the running of the railway.

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“We don’t expect this to have an effect on passengers, the main effect will be behind the scenes.

“I will be very sad if this goes on for a long time, it is not in anybody’s interests.”

Mr Benham said the union is meeting with the arbitration service ACAS next week.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “This is a straightforward case of fitters being expected to shoulder additional work and responsibility having the right to be rewarded properly for it.

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“The company knows that we are ready to talk to resolve the issue, but simply refusing to entertain an increase in pay for an increase in workload and responsibility is not an option.”

This weekend the railway is hosting special events celebrating the 1960s as part of the Pickering 60s Festival.