The Transport Salaried Staff’s Association is to ballot members for industrial action at DB Cargo over plans to transfer staff to Maritime Transport.
The union said that 16 jobs at the Trafford Park and Wakefield terminals are due to be transferred to Maritime from DB Cargo on 1st April, but “Maritime is currently refusing to recognise our members’ rights to retain their union status”.
The two companies signed a deal in January under which Maritime will take on responsibility for DB Cargo’s terminals at Trafford Park and Wakefield, while DB Cargo will operate four dedicated rail services out of Felixstowe and Southampton for Maritime.
DB Cargo is part of the German state-owned Deutsche Bahn group, and the union says it will take the dispute all the way to the German federal parliament.
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “I have written to chief executive Hans-Georg Werner explaining that we will now be balloting for industrial action.
“We are preparing to take our protest all the way to the Bundestag, working through our international affiliations to get support from German unions and MPs for our members.
“Our members deserve to transfer with all their rights protected including the security of their union recognition, and DB Cargo should be striving to protect their staff, not just throw them to the wolves.”
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