Railway signal workers have voted in favor of strike action over job loses, according to the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT).

The strikes threaten disruption to rail travel in the coming weeks, including over the Easter weekend. The RMT said 54% of its members backed strikes, with 77% supporting industrial action short of a strike.

A spokesman for the RMT leader Bob Crow said the union is giving Network Rail time to get back round the table for more negotiations. If there is no resolution, the RMT executive will meet on 25 March to announce the dates of strikes.

Maintenance workers belonging to the RMT union have already voted to go on strike in protest at the 1,500 job losses at Network Rail.