Eurostar described itself as a "model employer"

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union has asked around 150 of its members to vote on a strike over pay at the cross-channel train operator.

The union claims that workers earn "scandalously" low pay and are paid different rates for the same jobs.

Eurostar insisted that strike action would not affect services and described itself as a "model employer".

A spokesman for the train company said that negotiations with the union were ongoing.

He added: "There is no appetite for industrial action among our staff but any strike would not affect services."

RMT assistant general secretary Pat Sikorski said staff were being recruited at Ashford, in Kent, on salaries of �13,000 a year, unchanged from a decade ago.

He added that workers in Ashford were paid �4,000 a year less than their counterparts in Waterloo.

'Still negotiating'

"What we need is a straightforward 'rate-for-the-job' agreement for every grade that puts a proper value on multi-functional and often multi-lingual skills, and an end to unequal pay," he said.

Eurostar said it was still negotiating with the RMT over pay and expressed surprise at the ballot announcement.

A Eurostar spokesman said: "We are a model employer and the RMT knows that.

"There is no appetite for industrial action among our staff but any strike would not affect services."

Eurostar workers based at the terminals in Waterloo, London and Ashford will vote over the next few weeks.