The rail union, TSSA, has announced that it is to hold a 24 hour strike in September due to a dispute over pay, job security and conditions.

Staff at Network Rail, Avanti West Coast, c2c, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, LNER and South Eastern will be at the centre of strikes.

This follows on from strikes on the 18th and 20th August.

Union leader, Manuel Cortes, has called for the government to allow TOCs to come to the negotiating table to improve on the “insulting” 2% offer that was rejected earlier this Summer.

The strike action will take place from midday on the 26th September and will run until midday on the 27th September.

Commenting, TSSA union leader Manuel Cortes said: “The dead hand of Grant Shapps is sadly stopping DfT train operating companies from making a revised, meaningful offer.

“Frankly, he either sits across the negotiating table with our union or gets out of the way to allow railway bosses to freely negotiate with us, as they have done in the past.

“The reason for the current impasse lies squarely at Shapps’ door and passengers are paying a high price for his incompetence and intransigence.

“I welcome the fact that negotiations are ongoing with Network Rail and the gap towards a resolution is narrowing. Time will tell whether a deal can be done to avert our next strike.

“I will be standing on our picket line in Liverpool and will be encouraging fellow delegates and Labour MPs to do likewise, so they can rightly show they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those fighting the Tories’ cost of living crisis.”