XC Industrial Action from 23rd August onwards…

[43066]

Just out of interest has the strike / industrial action actually achieved the result the union wanted, or has it been a complete failure as far as getting the aims implemented.

I can't see anyone who has gained from this action
1) union / members haven't resolved the dispute satisfactory
2) passenger reputation of reliability of XC is even lower / if not almost zero
3) staff have lost money and goodwill of passengers
4) XC have lost revenue
5) ancillary businesses eg catering and station shops lost due to reduced flow

I wonder if others feel same, this action has failed completely to meet RMTs demands.

Too early to say. One could also ask whether the decision taken by XC to act in a way that provoked the strike achieved any legitimate aim? They have also lost the goodwill of their staff - even further than they already had - in addition to the losses mentioned above.

I wonder if others feel same, this action has failed completely to meet RMTs demands.

I don’t think there’s any evidence that the union membership think that way. And it is their view - and only their view - that matters.

 

[43055]

All but the service to/from Edinburgh are single sets today. Would of thought they would be mostly doubles.

Interestingly Willington is getting a replacement bus as well to Derby and Burton.

 

[father_jack]

Does that include the short notice ones and changes of origin which were being inputted this morning? Probably not as they shouldn’t be PGs, at least the ones I did weren’t.

There was a fatality north of Cheltenham which will have racked up a few more at least, part cancellations. A lot of locked out sets too all day, should have left them in the depots rather than compound any issues.

 

[357]

should have left them in the depots rather than compound any issues.

If that was the case and then a crew was found to be available, people would be on here complaining that XC weren't even trying!

 

[trainophile]

Any idea whether things will be completely back to normal tomorrow Tuesday 26th (unexpected events out of XC's control excepted of course)?

 

[danshrimp]

There was a fatality north of Cheltenham which will have racked up a few more at least, part cancellations. A lot of locked out sets too all day, should have left them in the depots rather than compound any issues.

It certainly all compounded. I was on the expectedly overcrowded and unpleasant 1115 Penzance-Edinburgh (travelling PNZ-BHM) which was cancelled at Bristol, and we were all sent to Reading to pick up a XC heading north which was held for us. This, with its 9 coaches, managed to more or less accommodate us all and things were going smoothly again until they decided to lock out the back 5 coaches at Coventry and transfer everyone to the front set! Inevitable confusion, horrific overcrowding etc all ensued. A really awful journey from start to finish and goes to show how these practices give XC so little resilience to deal with actual events, when they're struggling to hold things together as it is.

Just out of interest has the strike / industrial action actually achieved the result the union wanted, or has it been a complete failure as far as getting the aims implemented.

I can't see anyone who has gained from this action
1) union / members haven't resolved the dispute satisfactory
2) passenger reputation of reliability of XC is even lower / if not almost zero
3) staff have lost money and goodwill of passengers
4) XC have lost revenue
5) ancillary businesses eg catering and station shops lost due to reduced flow

I wonder if others feel same, this action has failed completely to meet RMTs demands.

But you have just listed several reasons why XC will be feeling a lot of pressure - they've had a very bad weekend and will have lost a lot of money and goodwill from passengers - which is the whole point of a strike. It doesn't have to lead to an extremely immediate resolution to be worthwhile from the perspective of the workers, the point is simply to strengthen their hand by demonstrating the impact that withdrawing their labour can have, and thus put pressure on XC to come to the table with an offer. This might take more strikes, it might not, time will tell, but I don't think there's any basis to say it has failed at this point. We don't even know what discussions are being had.

 

[Wyrleybart]

It certainly all compounded. I was on the expectedly overcrowded and unpleasant 1115 Penzance-Edinburgh (travelling PNZ-BHM) which was cancelled at Bristol, and we were all sent to Reading to pick up a XC heading north which was held for us. This, with its 9 coaches, managed to more or less accommodate us all and things were going smoothly again until they decided to lock out the back 5 coaches at Coventry and transfer everyone to the front set! Inevitable confusion, horrific overcrowding etc all ensued. A really awful journey from start to finish and goes to show how these practices give XC so little resilience to deal with actual events, when they're struggling to hold things together as it is.

But you have just listed several reasons why XC will be feeling a lot of pressure - they've had a very bad weekend and will have lost a lot of money and goodwill from passengers - which is the whole point of a strike. It doesn't have to lead to an extremely immediate resolution to be worthwhile from the perspective of the workers, the point is simply to strengthen their hand by demonstrating the impact that withdrawing their labour can have, and thus put pressure on XC to come to the table with an offer. This might take more strikes, it might not, time will tell, but I don't think there's any basis to say it has failed at this point. We don't even know what discussions are being had.

I think it depends how "success" is rated to be honest.
AIUI RMT have told XC employees to disobey their employer by not collecting possible revenue. But that revenue goers to the DfT (after XC's fixed amount) so who actually is harmed ?
Yes. It is the passengers / taxpayers who have another poor and disrupted service.
Will it achieve anything ? Who knows. What was the beef about XX company paying it's revenue staff more ? But from what I have read XC weren't paying the rate for the ticket scans. So is this trying to force XC to pay the same rate as "XX" ? Or is it a campaign to try and get DfT to pay for scanning fairly across all the train companies ? In which case, what of all the other 13 companies in England, and do Scotrail and TfW pay per scan, if they scan at all ?

Seems there is much to consider

 

[357]

XC agreed a rate per scan, and then decided not to pay it, breaching the agreement.

 

[43066]

I think it depends how "success" is rated to be honest.
AIUI RMT have told XC employees to disobey their employer by not collecting possible revenue. But that revenue goers to the DfT (after XC's fixed amount) so who actually is harmed ?
Yes. It is the passengers / taxpayers who have another poor and disrupted service.
Will it achieve anything ? Who knows. What was the beef about XX company paying it's revenue staff more ? But from what I have read XC weren't paying the rate for the ticket scans. So is this trying to force XC to pay the same rate as "XX" ? Or is it a campaign to try and get DfT to pay for scanning fairly across all the train companies ? In which case, what of all the other 13 companies in England, and do Scotrail and TfW pay per scan, if they scan at all ?

Seems there is much to consider

There isn’t - very simply, if agreements are made, they need to be followed. Industrial action is the inevitable result if they aren’t. All completely predictable and avoidable.

 

[Snow1964]

XC agreed a rate per scan, and then decided not to pay it, breaching the agreement.

Did they unconditionally agree ?
or did they agree subject to DfT ratification.

Big difference, and one wouldn't be a breach, possibly it was miscommunicated by one or both sides. My gut feeling is since the management contracts started everything costing money, is subject to DfT approval.

 

[Clarence Yard]

Any, and I mean any, changes to pay and conditions has to be approved by the DfT. It is a breach of the NRC to do otherwise.

Sitting down to negotiate any change also has to be prior approved by the DfT.

I am surprised the Union hasn’t asked the question as to who is really behind this move. If it is just XC, XC could be in big trouble.

 

[43066]

Any, and I mean any, changes to pay and conditions has to be approved by the DfT. It is a breach of the NRC to do otherwise.

Sitting down to negotiate any change also has to be prior approved by the DfT.

I am surprised the Union hasn’t asked the question as to who is really behind this move. If it is just XC, XC could be in big trouble.

The union is not in a position to negotiate directly with the DfT, the agreements in question are with the employer directly, and industrial action must be taken against the employer. Exactly the same situation as the main national dispute.

Presumably the solution would be in the relevant politicians pulling the DfT to heel in order to resolve the situation. If the DfT is going around asking TOCs to act in bad faith by breaching agreements, we can expect a lot more disruption.

 

[Moderating team]

I think its best we leave it there pending any further developments in this dispute.

thanks all

 

[ainsworth74]

Just a brief update that's been shared with us that's come from the RMT:

All Cross Country members are congratulated for the solid strike action which took place on Saturday 23rd and Monday 25th August and for continuing to support the ongoing industrial action for no electronic scanning of tickets.

Further talks have also taken place with the Company including four Councils in attendance; Train Managers, Senior Conductors, Catering & Support Grades and the Clerical & Supervisory Company Council. The Company asked if RMT would consider dealing with each item separately, but the majority of Reps were of the opinion that all matters must be resolved together to bring a conclusion to this dispute.

A letter was then received from the Company following these talks, which committed to the below items, in the event that the dispute overall is resoled:

• A mandate for scan incentives, including an uplift in commission on onboard ticket sales.
• A mandate for catering headcount increase, compared to current mandated headcount, with an agreement that we will work together on a new catering proposition with a single grade.
• A mandate to address pay parity in the Team Organiser grade and to provide timescales for other collective grade discussions within the remit of the Clerical and Supervisory Company Council.
• Agreement, whilst talks continue, not to use 2 x Safety Business Partners this weekend, nor on normal operating days, as contingents and for a discussion about the contingency list to be brought to the Train Manager and Senior Conductor Company Councils.
• A bulletin has previously been issued addressing the issue of safety critical roles.
• We can confirm that we reverted, as part of the previous dispute resolution, to pre TRP Contingent payments as agreed in dispute offer letter dated 27th Sept 2024.
• The issue concerning the victimisation of Trade Union representatives has been resolved privately owing to the confidential nature of the cases.

The Lead Officer has submitted a report advising that other matters remain unresolved and that the dispute should therefore continue. The National Executive Committee has endorsed this position that not all matters raised by members have been resolved and therefore, we remain in dispute.

The NEC has taken the decision to convene a meeting with the Lead Officer and Reps to discuss this matter and further talks are also planned with the Company.

I will keep you advised of all further developments.

Yours sincerely,

 

[ainsworth74]

With thanks to another informed source we have some more information on the outcome of a recent ASLEF ballot that was shared today:

CrossCountry Ballot Results:

Strike Action

Yes - 469 (89.67%)
No - 54 (10.33%)

Turnout - 523 (82.75%)

Action Short of a Strike

Yes - 504 (96.55%)
No - 18 (3.45%)

Turnout - 523 (82.75%)

Details of any planned action will be shared at a later date.

 

[ainsworth74]

A further update and sadly it's not good news:

12th September 2025

RMT CALLS FURTHER INDUSTRIAL ACTION OVER THE BREAKDOWN IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

WITH CROSS COUNTRY​

Dear Colleague

BREAKDOWN IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS – CROSS COUNTRY

Further to my previous correspondence with regards to the above dispute, I would like to congratulate you and your colleagues for standing firm during the days of industrial action. Our Cross Country members have solidly supported the strike action taken to date in their fight to protect jobs, agreements and union representation.

Please find an update report from your Regional Organiser, Stan Herschel, on the current dispute situation HERE [attached to bottom of post]

Your union’s National Executive Committee has again considered the matter and has taken the decision to call on all our Cross Country members to take further industrial action. Therefore, you and your colleagues are instructed not to book on for any shifts that commence between:

• 00.01 hours until 23.59 hours on Saturday 18th October 2025
• 00.01 hours until 23.59 hours on Saturday 1st November 2025

Additionally, the union’s National Executive Committee has called the following industrial action short of a strike:

• No electronic scanning of tickets from 00.01 hours on Sunday 2nd November 2025 until further notice

The industrial action short of a strike instruction for no electronic scanning of tickets remains in place. To comply with legal advice, this action will be suspended for the duration of the strikes but will commence again immediately after the strike action has concluded, and continuously from 00:01 hours on Sunday 2nd November 2025, until further notice.

STAND FIRM TOGETHER AND

SUPPORT THE INDUSTRIAL ACTION​

I will, of course, keep you fully advised on any further developments.


Yours sincerely

Eddie Dempsey

General Secretary