More rail strikes planned for May

Rail users across the North West could face more misery in the wake of fresh strikes in the dispute over the role of guards on trains.
By The Newsroom
Published 25th Apr 2018, 13:18 BST
Updated 25th Apr 2018, 14:28 BST
The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.
The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on Arriva Rail North, Greater Anglia and South Western Railway (SWR) will strike for 24 hours on May 9.

The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.

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RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Yet again the intransigence of private rail companies operating in England over the key issue of the guard guarantee means that we have no option but to announce further strike action in the separate disputes on Arriva Rail North, Greater Anglia and South Western Railway.

The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.
The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.

"With RMT members protesting outside Parliament today we are drawing attention to the ludicrous situation that means we are able to reach agreements in Wales and Scotland on the guard guarantee but not on a raft of key franchises in England.

"If it's good enough for Wales and Scotland to put rail safety first then it should be good enough for the rest of Britain.

"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.

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"RMT remains available for genuine and meaningful talks in each of these disputes."

The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.
The announcement was made at a protest in Westminster to mark the second anniversary of the start of the dispute.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: "We are very disappointed that the RMT has announced a further strike on Wednesday May 9. We'd like to reassure customers that we will be running a full service on this day, using our contingency conductors.

"In recent weeks, we have had some constructive talks with RMT union officials and offered a proposal which we hoped would resolve this issue. Unfortunately, the RMT has rejected it.

"Our position remains the same: We highly value our conductors, we're keeping them on our trains, but we want them to concentrate on customer service rather than opening and closing doors. We will continue to talk to the RMT to try to find an acceptable solution."

Members of the RMT on SWR also intend to hold additional strikes on May 11, 14 16 and 18.

Related topics:North WestGreater AngliaEngland