RMT confirm three day industrial action later this month

 
RMT members demonstrate outside the Department of Transport

There is to be further strike action in the ongoing dispute about the role of guards on South Western Railway.

The RMT union has instructed members not to book on duty from Thursday 21 June until Saturday 23 June.

The strike, if it goes ahead, will affect services at stations such as Putney, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Chiswick and Brentford.

‎RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash said, “RMT has made every effort to progress talks with South Western Railway but there has been a total lack of goodwill from the company and as a consequence we have no option but to confirm this further round of industrial action.

“The responsibility for this escalation rests solely with the company who know full well that the union won’t stand aside while they play fast and loose with both the talks process and the safety and well-being of the general public.

“We have long detected the dead hand of the Government interfering to stop us reaching negotiated settlements in the current disputes and it’s about time Chris Grayling stopped playing politics with passenger safety and started taking the issue seriously. He should be putting pressure on his rail contractors to reach a settlement rather than encouraging this cavalier approach to passenger safety and disabled access.”

South Western Railway said, “ We will do everything we can to minimise disruption to you during this period of industrial action. More information will be provided on our website in due course.”

The union claim that safety is compromised unless there is an absolute guarantee of a guard on all trains. South Western Railway say that they will roster guards on all services but that trains should be allowed to run in the event of one not being available. They argue that there is no evidence of any greater risk with a driver only operated train.

Live Updates on South Western Rail Services

June 10, 2018