'Peace talks' after RMT strike vote

Network Rail and the RMT union will hold talks next week in a bid to stave off a strike over Easter.


Both sides have agreed to meet at the conciliation service Acas after signal workers voted for industrial action.


The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said 54 per cent of its members backed strikes, with 77 per cent supporting industrial action short of a strike. Maintenance workers belonging to the union have already voted to strike in protest at the 1,500 job losses at Network Rail.


RMT officials have met executives at the company, which is seeking to cut jobs and change working practices to allow more maintenance work to be carried out at weekends. National Rail described the talks as "professional" and "business-like".


Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association have also voted in favour of industrial action, threatening the biggest outbreak of industrial unrest on the railways for more than a decade.


National Rail said it believed it could keep trains running in the event of a strike by maintenance workers, adding that it was not prepared to have the RMT "hold the country to ransom".