A strike by Eurostar security staff was called off at the 11th-hour on Wednesday (21 December) following a last-ditch pay offer, although a number of services are still understood to have been affected by pre-emptive cancellations.
RMT union members contracted by Mitie to provide security services for the cross-Channel rail operator had been due to walk out on Thursday (22 December). It follows earlier strike action on 16, 18 and 20 December in a dispute over pay.
However, Thursday’s action was cancelled hours before it was due to get under way after Mitie made a new pay offer of more than 10% including back pay, and an uplift of nearly 30% for the lowest paid.
Eurostar, though, said: "Due to strike action affecting the availability of some of our crew and the opening hours on the UK railway network, we’ll be running a revised timetable on 23 and 24 December. This means we’ve had to cancel or change the departure time of a number of trains."
The RMT said the deal also included guaranteed hours on permanent shift patterns and more freedom for those working flexibly to choose shifts to suit their requirements.
Other wins claimed by the union include a commitment from Mitie to take a fresh look at its discretionary sick pay policy clause to ensure employees have access to a review before a decision is made.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said members had been steadfast in their pursuit of "a decent pay increase and improved conditions". “These workers have fought hard for an improvement in the offer and succeeded,” he added.
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