Workers at Eurostar are to be balloted for strikes in a dispute over safety and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.

The union claims staff face increasing pressure because of worsening working conditions, with unreliable trains and poor service recovery.

RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, said: “Eurostar is making billions in revenue, but frontline staff are being left to deal with unsafe conditions and the consequences of poor management decisions.

“Eurostar is prioritising the bottom line ahead of our members’ concerns around investment in safety and good conditions at work.

“If Eurostar does not change course, strike action cannot be ruled out.”

The announcement comes just days after one of the operator’s rivals said it would bring international trains back to Kent if it is allowed to operate.

Italian state-owned company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) is one of a handful of competitors, including Virgin, that want to run trains on the line.

Eurostar has held a monopoly on the route since the Channel Tunnel was constructed in 1994.

In 2020, it pulled services from Ashford and Ebbsfleet, leading to petitions and pressure from MPs to bring them back.

FS has told The Times it will reopen Ashford International Station to cross-Channel trains if it gets the go-ahead to run the route.

The company says it wants to open an ‘international hub’ at the station as early as the beginning of next year and will start services to Paris in 2029.

Francesco De Leo-Kaufmann, the international head of FS, said he has earmarked up to £1 billion to be “plugged into this project”.

In response to the strike talks, a Eurostar spokesperson said: “The safety of our team members and customers is our absolute priority, and we continue to discuss the matter with RMT to resolve its concerns.

“No strike action is confirmed at this stage.”