Strike threatened on Yorkshire to London trains over ticket barriers

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said its members at East Coast Mainline will vote from next week on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action in a row over the introduction of automated ticket barriers.

The union said that commission from the collection of on-board fares had fallen, leaving guards "seriously out of pocket".

General secretary Bob Crow said: "Our members have made it clear that the loss of earnings arising from automation on East Coast is totally unacceptable and they are not prepared to see the position of the guard undermined to the point where these key staff are reduced to become amongst the lowest-paid guards in the country.

"The management on the East Coast Mainline needs to show very clearly that they appreciate the role and responsibility of their guards with an offer that fully recognises the loss of income incurred through the installation of ticket barriers."

An East Coast spokesman said: "More customers than ever now choose to buy their tickets before they board the train, and almost half of all ticket sales are made online. We recognise this has had an effect on the commission earnings of our guards.

"We've been talking with them about this over a considerable period of time - and the offer of a fair and comprehensive compensatory package is on the table. Given the good progress that's been made, industrial action is completely unnecessary. We don't believe there's a genuine appetite for it among our guards - and it's the last thing our customers want."

The Labour government took ovet the running of East Coast last year following the failure of the previous franchisees GNER and National Express East Coast.