Strike to go ahead on Eurotunnel

Members of the British rail union RMT will stage a 24-hour strike at stations operated by Channel Tunnel train company Eurostar today.

But the company, which operates from London to Paris and Brussels, was confident the pay-and-grading stoppage by customer service staff would have “no impact on passengers or services”.

However, the RMT said the dispute would have a big impact on the processing of passengers and also warned that more of Eurostar’s RMT members could get involved in the dispute in the future.

Eurostar has put in place contingency plans and is running an extra eight trains to Paris and Brussels over the British Bank Holiday weekend to meet passenger demand.

Eurostar communications director Paul Charles said: “The RMT have chosen the Bank Holiday period to try and cause maximum disruption but, for Eurostar and its passengers, it’s business as usual. Travellers are fed up with the RMT’s attempts to disrupt their holiday plans.”