TWO STRIKES have been called on First TransPennine Express on 24 and 26 August, after pay talks broke down. The action will therefore affect TPE passengers over the Bank Holiday weekend, which the company said is 'disappointing'. 

Members of the RMT and ASLEF have rejected a 2.2 per cent pay offer, and the general secretary of the RMT, Bob Crow, is calling on the company to think again.

He said: "Our members have made it quite clear that they expect a company that makes substantial profits out of their efforts to offer more than a real-terms pay cut.

"First TransPennine’s lame excuse that it couldn’t afford a decent pay rise in the last year of its franchise has evaporated with the extension of its contract to 2015.

"The company knows that RMT is ready to negotiate, and if it wants to avoid industrial action it should get back around the table with us and talk seriously about rewarding properly the people who make their profits for them."

The strikes will hit passengers who want to travel to Manchester Pride and the start of the Leeds Music Festival.

TPE managing director Vernon Barker also wants talks to restart as soon as possible. He said: "We are disappointed that our colleagues represented by ASLEF and the RMT have voted in favour of industrial action, and we remain hopeful that a solution can be found.

"We would urge the trade unions to join us in further discussions."