A train company paid out nearly £500m to shareholders last year before telling rail unions that employees must take a real-terms pay cut for them to stay afloat.
More than 50,000 train workers across 13 train companies began three days of industrial action on Tuesday. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) said it was striking in response to plans by the companies to cut jobs and real-terms pay, and worsen employment conditions.
Rail chiefs have said that a cost-of-living pay rise, one of the RMT’s key demands, is “not sustainable in the current economic climate”.
