Planned Strike On South Western Railway Suspended
'Adequate progress' made in talks about Driver Only Operation
RMT members demonstrate outside the Department of Transport
The RMT have announced this Monday (18 June) that they are to suspend strikes on the South Western Railway network planned for later this week. The industrial action would have hit services from Thursday until Saturday.
Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary, said, “RMT welcomes the fact that following joint talks with South Western Railway, under the auspices of conciliation service ACAS, and subsequent correspondence, adequate progress has been made regarding the dispute over the role of the Guard and the extension of Driver Only Operation.
“We hope that the talks can continue in a constructive manner and an agreement can be reached.”
The strike had been called as part of the ongoing dispute about the role of guards on South Western Railway. It would have affected services at stations such as Putney, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Chiswick and Brentford.
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 18, 2018