RMT confirms new strike dates on South Western Railway

15 August 2018

RMT Press Office:

RMT confirms new strike dates on South Western Railway as company make a mockery of talks process.

RAIL UNION RMT has confirmed a new round of strike action on South Western Railway after the company made a mockery of agreed talks and sabotaged a process that could have reached agreement.

RMT has accused the company of sending in a negotiating team with no authority and no support from their paymasters in Hong Kong and Aberdeen to reach a settlement.

As a result serious union proposals addressing disruption of service have been kicked back in our face today with RMT accusing those responsible for stringing the negotiating team along and having no intention of reaching agreement.

Company chief Andy Mellors to date has demonstrated disregard for all ACAS talks and instead chooses to spend his time on publicity stunts handing out ice lollies and sweets to passengers while services continue to lurch from crisis to crisis.

Because of the companies attitude RMT has confirmed the following new strike dates in the guards’ safety dispute:

RMT members will strike as follows by not booking on for any shifts between;

0001 Hours and 2359 hours on Sunday 2nd September

0001 Hours and 2359 hours on Saturday 8th September

0001 Hours and 2359 hours on Saturday 15th September

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said;

“RMT is angry and frustrated that the company’s cavalier and contemptuous approach to talks leaves us no option but to confirm additional strike dates. We know that passengers will share that anger.

“Today SWR have benefitted from a fares windfall that will pump up their profits. They have plenty of money to employ guards on their trains and to sign off the guard guarantee the union has achieved elsewhere.

“South Western Railway seem to think they can treat the union and their staff with utter contempt. They need to change that attitude, get serious and put a team in place that can talk with us with authority on the safety, security and access issues at the heart of this dispute.”

Ends.