Virgin

Rachel Tombling sustained injuries when her head hit a computer screen in an on-board shop when her train experienced rough riding - but was sacked for wilfully damaging it. The sacking was upheld at an appeal, and now workers from Virgin West Coast’s Manchester Piccadilly depot are on strike, having been out for three days so far.

While ground staff worked an average of eight hours a day, Virgin's pay office miscalculated that staff had worked 7.5 hours, and paid shift allowances accordingly. Over four years this amounts to several million Australian dollars of unpaid wages.

An RMT organiser said they were unhappy that a deal agreed with managers had been blocked by the board.

Virgin CrossCountry, which operates between Penzance and Aberdeen, said the strike had less impact than planned engineering works.