SWT to stage 48 hour stoppages

Staff at South West Trains, serving some of London's busiest commuter routes, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of staging two 48 hour strikes, it was revealed today.

More than 100,000 passengers who use Waterloo mainline station and tens of thousands more across the region now face two 48-hour "back to back" stoppages - on January 3 and 4 and again on January 7 and 8.

The declaration was to have made yesterday but was delayed. This meant that the union, which is required by law to give seven days notice of industrial action, could not hold the first strike on Christmas Eve, as was first suggested.

The union's acting general secretary Vernon Hince said his members were "incensed" at the way they had been treated by the train operator.

The union has rejected a 3.8% pay offer after complaining that train drivers have been given a better deal.

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