The Arriva Wales Trains strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, which was due to take place on Friday, has been called off after legal action.
Members of the RMT were to stage a 24-hour walkout in a continuing dispute over pay – a move designed to cause huge disruption to thousands of rugby fans in the capital for Wales’ Six Nations clash with England.
The train company was due in the High Court tomorrow to get an injunction to stop the union’s drivers from going on strike.
However the union has now decided to abandon the strike following legal advice on the “changing nature of the anti-trade union laws”.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “While our fight for pay justice for our driver members on Arriva Trains Wales remains well and truly on we have now received further legal advice on the nature of the anti-trade union laws in respect of recent court judgments and as a result of that advice the action planned for this Friday has been called off and our members have been instructed to work normally.
“Nobody should be in any doubt about just how the noose of the anti-union laws has been tightened around workers necks and it’s the full weight of those undemocratic laws that has been brought in to play in this dispute.
“It remains the case that ATW drivers are some of the worst paid in the country and that all they are fighting for is a comparable wage, a pay increase that protects their standards of living without strings and working conditions that ensure a decent work/life balance. That fight goes on.
“RMT remains available for talks aimed at settling this long-running dispute.”
An Arriva Trains Wales spokeswoman said: “We welcome the RMT union’s decision to call off their planned industrial action on Friday which will mean ATW will be able to provide a full and comprehensive timetable of services for the rugby international and across the rail network in Wales.”
Arriva Trains Wales has previously said its offer to the RMT, a 12% pay increase over two years, was “very generous”.
The dispute between the two organisations has been on-going for several weeks. Earlier this month a planned strike was called-off while last month services were stopped for 24 hours just after Christmas.