Eurostar workers walked out on Saturday
in protest at the dangerous overcrowding at London’s St Pancras station.
Members of transport union RMT picketed the international departure entrance
following the breakdown of talks over shocking and dangerous working conditions
resulting from repeated service failures and breakdowns.
The
international terminal at St Pancras has been reduced to chaos, with staff left
to bear the brunt of public anger, following a spate of service problems that
have dumped thousands of passengers on the cramped concourse at St Pancras as
the season heads towards its summer peak. RMT has repeatedly demanded action to
improve conditions but with nothing tangible coming from Eurostar there is no
option but to strike. Workers at the French end of the Eurostar operation have
also registered their disgust at the appalling conditions and have taken action
in an attempt to force the company to act.
RMT
General Secretary, Mick Cash, said: “The conditions at St Pancras have been
simply appalling in recent weeks with dangerous levels of overcrowding on the
concourse as services plunge into meltdown on the cusp of the busiest part of
the year. RMT will not tolerate a position where our members are left to pick
up the pieces due to corporate failures.
“RMT
is escalating this dispute with a ballot of train managers that is now underway
and it is now time for Eurostar to get their heads out of the sand, recognise
the seriousness of the current situation and come forward with proposals that
address the issues our members have been raising with them”.
No comments:
Post a Comment