Rail maintenance workers at depots in Leeds and Newcastle are to hold a six-day strike in a dispute over plans to regrade their jobs. The BBC reports here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26937967
that staff at Northern Rail's depots at Neville Hill and Heaton will stop work at 18:59 BST on Thursday 10 April until 18:58 BST on Wednesday 16 April.
The strike, by 42 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, follows a 48-hour walkout in February.
Northern Rail have said there would be "no disruption" to normal services, but I will update regular readers as and when I hear more. Everyone knows I support unions but I would hope that the parties will get talking and common sense will prevail. Northern have had trouble keeping a relationship with the unions - and everyone in Tynedale will remember Torchgate, and not with fond memories. I am raising other matters with Northern at the moment, not least persistent overcrowding which constituents have brought to my attention, but this is the background to where we have been on employer / employee and customer relations; it is not for me to solve this dispute but I will leave constituents and readers to draw their own conclusions: http://guyopperman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/torchgatethere-is-light-at-end-of.html
