Train guards will receive a £300 bonus for working a five-day week as part of a new deal signed off by the Transport Secretary.
Louise Haigh struck an agreement last month to prevent strikes by CrossCountry, which is based in the West Midlands and runs intercity services across the country.
Train guards normally work four-day weeks but will receive £300 a day as a bonus if they agree to work for a fifth day as part of the overtime deal, which was first reported by the Sunday Times.
Members of the RMT trade union had voted to strike after CrossCountry used managers to fill in for staff at weekends.
To stave off the walkouts, guards working Saturday shifts between now and mid-November will receive the £300 payment on top of their normal wage.
The deal was criticised by the Conservatives on Sunday. Helen Whately, the shadow transport secretary, said: “Rail unions can’t get enough of this Government.
“They now know that every time they go on strike, Labour will cave.”
CrossCountry was the second-worst ranked train operator for both cancellations and punctuality in the three months through March.
It also had a worse cancellations record than Avanti West Coast, the worst performer among Britain’s 20 train operating companies, in the full year, according to data from the Office of Rail and Road.
Ministers signed off on a 15 per cent pay rise for train drivers last month, meaning they now earn just under £70,000 on average.
Ms Haigh met with Mick Whelan, the general secretary of the Aslef union which represents train drivers, five days after Labour took office. The deal was announced four weeks later.
The Transport Secretary’s long-term future is thought to be in doubt after she angered Downing Street by blindsiding it over the deal.
She was at the centre of a separate political row last week after her claim that P&O Ferries was a “rogue operator” almost led DP World, its parent company, to withdraw £1 billion in investment.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “While this is a local matter for CrossCountry, it’s crucial that passengers receive a more reliable service, on every day of the week – something our overhaul of the railways will help deliver.”
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