UK
TSSA members to take industrial action at TransPennine Express
By the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA)
TSSA rail union members working at TransPennine Express (TPE) as Operations Managers have voted unanimously in favour of both strike action and action short of strike, in a dispute over on call working arrangements.
To date, TPE has refused to offer an acceptable on-call, overtime and compensatory time off in lieu (TOIL) package to staff in the roles of Driver Managers, Operational Development Managers and Driver Operations Managers.
Several dozen members at TPE responsible for safety issues and operational problems around the clock were balloted – and of those choosing to vote, 100 percent were in favour of strike action and action short of a strike.
Reacting, TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, said: “This is a decisive mandate from our members that is bound to send a strong message to TransPennine.
“The company must now move at pace to make an improved and reasonable offer which meets the aspirations of our members. Our members work extremely hard to keep rail services running safely and efficiently. Their commitment often means giving up family and personal time, taking on additional responsibilities, and adapting to challenging conditions.
“They deserve fair recompense for the impact that their on call duties have on their home lives. Multiple times a year, whilst on call, they are expected to be available 24 hours a day, responding to what are often traumatic situations.
“Our union takes industrial action only as a last resort and clearly our members in TPE are united and ready to act.”
*TSSA has set a number of dates for action short of a strike –beginning from 00:01 on Tuesday, 25th November 2025. (See Notes below for full details)
Two notices of Action short of strike have been issued so far:
1 – The action short of a strike will be continuous and will take place on the intended dates set out below:
From 00:01 on Tuesday, 25th November 2025
The types of industrial action short of a strike that will be taken are:
*Ban on covering vacant on-call lines
*Ban on out-of-hours work communication
*Ban on undertaking contingency duties arising from industrial action
*No mentoring of colleagues, including new starters
*No training of colleagues, including new starters
*No double desking (no carrying out work of absent colleagues and vacancies)
*Ban on any cross-cover for any other Grade.
*Ban on any Driver Linking (Roster) processes
2 – The action short of a strike will be discontinuous and will take place on the intended dates set out below:
From
*17:01 on Friday 28th November 2025 to 07:59 on Monday 1st December 2025
*17:01 on Friday 5th December 2025 to 07:59 on Monday 8th December 2025
*17:01 on Friday 12th December 2025 to 07:59 on Monday 15th December 2025
The types of industrial action short of a strike that will be taken are:
Ban on on-call activities –
This results in the removal of on call over three weekends in a row.
*Overview – The cohort of workers involved in the action being taken work on safety and operational matters and are charged with responding immediately to any such problems, supporting staff on the ground and working with emergency services when needed.
From 09:00 Thursday to Thursday, they are always on call – ready to respond at a moment’s notice – which means putting family life, hobbies, and personal plans on hold to keep everything moving safe.
- You can follow the TSSA here and Maryam Eslamdoust, TSSA General Secretary, here.
- This article was originally published by TSSA on 17 November 2025.
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