Eurostar strike: How will walkout affect travellers?

Eurostar staff will stage two weekend walkouts this month to protest unsociable working hours for train managers.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union will walk out at one minute after midnight on Friday 12 August, with strike action ending at 11.59pm Monday 15 August. Another three-day walkout will take place over the late August bank holiday, on 26 to 29 August.

RMT and Eurostar management came to an agreement in 2008 to guarantee conductors a "good work/life balance in terms of unsocial hours and duty rosters". The union now says Eurostar has failed to honour the deal.

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Passengers booked to travel on those weekends should be able to complete their journey with minimal disruption, with no current plans to cancel services.

"On the days of the strike we have made some small changes to our timetable to ensure that all passengers booked to travel will be able to on those days," a Eurostar spokesman said. "Passengers affected will be notified in advance."

Service updates can be found on the Eurostar website.

The industrial action is particularly unwelcome "at a time when Eurostar has been suffering what it calls 'challenging' trading conditions" following the EU referendum and the vote for Brexit, the Financial Times reports.

The union is also behind current industrial action affecting the Southern rail franchise, with staff now three days into a five-day walkout over the changing role of on-board staff.

On Tuesday, RMT members working for Virgin Trains East Coast also voted in favour of future strike action in a dispute over jobs and pay.