UK train strikes: Network Rail workers to stage 24-hour strike on bank holiday Monday

Staff will walk out from 5pm in row over pay

Network Rail said 'people will still be able to make their journey' (AFP/Getty)

UK rail staff are to stage a 24-hour strike on 25 May in a row over pay, in a walkout that could cause chaos for passengers travelling on the bank holiday.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out from 5pm on Monday.

The workers, including signallers and maintenance staff, will also ban overtime for 48 hours on the bank holiday Monday and Tuesday, according to the Press Association.

The move comes after RMT members voted for strikes at 4-1, well above a planned threshold for ballots proposed by the Government.

Workers are striking after the union rejected a four-year deal offered by Network Rail worth £500 this year and three years of increases matching RPI inflation as well as a no compulsory redundancy commitment to December 2016 for nearly 16,000 staff.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Our members have decisively rejected the pay package offered by Network Rail and the failure of the company to make any moves whatsoever in light of the overwhelming vote in the ballot has left us with no option but to move to a rolling programme of industrial action.

"We have a massive mandate for action which shows the anger of safety-critical staff across the rail network at attacks on their standards of living and their job security.

"Our rail staff deserve a fair reward for the high-pressure, safety-critical work that they undertake day and night and the last thing that we need is a demoralised, burnt-out workforce living in fear for their futures and the message has come back loud and clear that that is exactly how they feel about the current offer from Network Rail."

Additional reporting by PA