Avanti managers turn down £250 offer for working day off as new year strike looms

Train managers at Avanti West Coast have turned down an offer worth £250 for working on a day off – or £300 at weekends.

- SIMON CALDER

After emphatically rejecting the proposal, the RMT union members plan strikes that will cause disruption for the next five months.

Train managers intend to walk out on New Year’s Eve, 2 January and every Sunday from 12 January to 25 May – wrecking journeys for millions of prospective travellers between London Euston and the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland. The stoppages are in pursuit of a further improved offer for volunteering to work on rest days.

The Independent understands Avanti West Coast offered train managers time and a quarter for working on a day off during the week, and time and a half at weekends. With an average hourly basic rate of £25, a typical train manager would earn £250 for an eight-hour shift on a rest day worked during the week, rising to £300 at weekends.