The pay dispute is still ongoing as the Avanti strike continues.

The RMT union confirmed that the Avanti West Coast employees will strike on Sunday, 12 January as planned due to their ongoing dispute over wages.

RMT wants a fair settlement after the company said it had failed to make any new proposals in the most recent talks to settle the ongoing dispute.

The strike this weekend follows those that took place on New Year’s Eve and the 2nd of January. Further action is planned on Sundays up until 25th May.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, , who is due to retire by May, said that it was wrong for Avanti to pay replacement managers upto PS500 per hour – double what our members are paid – when they fail to provide the same service to passengers.

This destructive approach is typical for train operating companies. It stems from failed policies of the former Conservative government that rewarded excessive payouts to managers instead of resolving conflicts fairly.

He said that Avanti should revise their offer to reflect what workers want and they were willing to “negotiate a fair deal”.

Lynch said: “Avanti would be able to make better use its resources if it reached a fair agreement with our members. This would also be more cost-effective.” This issue stems from a severe shortage of staff, which led to an excessive reliance on overtime.

Plans for a Christmas strike were put on hold in December while a vote was held over a revised offer. This included changes to the payment of rest days and a promise of discussions about new technology agreements. These were however rejected by the members.

Kathryn O’Brien is the executive director for customer experience at Avanti West Coast. She said, “We’re very disappointed that RMT has called a strike action over a long period of time when our customers are working, visiting friends and family, or having a day out. Due to this, their journeys will be significantly disrupted during this period. I want to thank everyone for their patience.

She added that “we remain open to work with the RMT in order to resolve the dispute.”

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