First Capital Connect has cancelled nearly all Great Northern services for Remembrance Sunday, as drivers continue their unofficial ban on rest day working. The company said it was 'disappointed' that there would be hardly any GN trains to take people to the Cenotaph. It has been contacting local officials of the Royal British Legion to warn them of the problem.
Pay talks have been continuing. FCC is currently offering a two-year deal which would mean no increase with effect from April this year but an increase of RPI+1% or 3%, whichever is the greater, in April 2010.
Drivers have been refusing to work overtime and rest days for the past two weeks, and all FCC routes have been affected by cancellations and delays as a result. A Class 377 familiarisation programme launched in March for Thameslink drivers has also been suspended.
FCC employs around 600 drivers, and just over half work on Thameslink. Although there will be almost no Great Northern service, the Thameslink line from Bedford is expected to run normally. Industry sources have suggested that the Thameslink drivers were unwilling to let down war veterans and others making their way to London.
Replacement buses are being provided from principal Great Northern stations to provide road links with stations on other routes nearby, and FCC car park charges will be suspended.