Strike threat following launch of public consultation

Commuters are braced for more rail misery, following rail union RMT’s vote on Tuesday to go on strike over the threat to guards on South Western Railway (SWR).

Haslemere Rail Users Group (HRUG) urged SWR to avoid a repeat of Southern’s “debacle” concerning guards, when it went head to head with the union causing the worst rail disruption in 20 years. More than 80 per cent of RMT members on SWR voted to strike on a turnout of over 76 per cent, with even higher numbers voting for action short of a strike.

Union general secretary Mick Cash said:“RMT has given repeated opportunities for SWR owner First MTR to give us the assurances we have sought over the future role of the guards on their trains throughout the length of the new South Western franchise.

“They have refused to give us those guarantees and it is that failure which left RMT with no option but to declare a formal dispute with the company and to conduct a ballot for action.

“Our members have now voted overwhelmingly for both strike action and action short of a strike and that massive mandate will now be considered by RMT’s executive who will decide the next steps.

An SWR spokesman said: “We are disappointed some of our staff have chosen to vote for industrial action.

“None of us want to be in this position and any potential action will cause unnecessary disruption for the customers we serve. We have been clear that we plan to retain a second person on our services, as we know that our passengers value the assurance and assistance a second member of on-board staff provides.

“That’s why, during our franchise, we will increase the numbers of drivers and guards so we can deliver more services for passengers.

“We aim to deliver improvements for passengers including more trains, quicker journeys, and earlier and later services. Tuesday’s announcement undermines those efforts. ”

The threat of strike action comes just after SWR launched a public consultation on its new timetable proposals from December, which will see more services between Haslemere and Waterloo.

HRUG secretary Martin Odell said: “We thought when the SWR franchise commenced in August any RMT strikes over driver only operation (DOO) trains would, for the time being, not be an issue for Waterloo-Haslemere-Portsmouth travellers.

“But we underestimated the strength of feeling of RMT members who backed walkouts by 4-1 on a turnout of 76 per cent. While HRUG, in principle, has no objection to DOO, there remain security risks for the train’s passengers without another member of staff present.

“Accordingly we welcomed SWR’s confirmation it would ‘retain a second person’ on board. We do not wish for a repeat of Southern’s debacle over the last year, so we would urge SWR to come up in the very near future, with an appropriate title, job description and remuneration package that satisfies the guards and RMT, and avoids the necessity for strikes on the Waterloo-Haslemere-Portsmouth line.

“With regard to the proposed new timetable, it looks as if there are between Monday and Friday, 13 more services per day to London from Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth and Southsea, 11 more from Haslemere, and 16 more services from London back to Haslemere, Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth and Southsea most of the extra being late evening.

“Many of the services are in the 51 minute range rather than the current 60 minutes. And there are many more that don’t stop at Woking.

“HRUG are planning to meet up with SWR to determine which rolling stock will deployed under the proposed timetable although we expect a bit of a wait for the bulk of the fast services to be all two-plus-two seating.”

 

Article originally appeared on Farnham Herald 

The Institute cannot confirm the accuracy of this story or confirm that it presents a balanced view. If you feel this is inaccurate we would welcome your perspective and evidence that this is the case.

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