
1 January 2020
RMT Press Office:
As current phase of SWR strike action draws to a close RMT praises members resilience and pledges to continue fight for safe operation
As the current month long phase of South Western Railway strike action draws to a close, rail union RMT has praised members resilience while condemning the company and the Government for blocking a solution and pledging to continue the fight for the safest possible model of operation that guarantees the safety-critical role of the guard on every train.
General Secretary Mick Cash said;
"I want to pay tribute today to every single RMT member on South Western Railway who has stood firm over the past month of action, and on previous strike days, in the teeth of a barrage of hostility from the company. Those RMT members have stood strong and united in this long fight for safe and accessible rail travel for all and they are an absolute credit to the trade union movement.
"It is extraordinary and unprecedented that throughout this latest phase of action SWR have made no effort whatsoever to get talks back underway with the objective of negotiating a settlement despite repeated calls from the union. We detect the dead hand of their paymasters, the Government, who have been happy to ladle out tens of millions of pounds in public money in susbsidies to the company to fuel their own union-busting agenda. That is a disgrace.
"The union executive will now consider the next steps in this dispute but be in no doubt, the fight for a railway where safety comes before profits goes on."
Ends
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