The boss of Southern rail and the general secretary of the RMT have agreed to hold face-to-face talks on Wednesday in an effort to break the deadlock in the long-running dispute on Britain’s worst-performing rail network.
Passengers suffered fresh disruption on Tuesday, the first day of a series of three-day strikes, as overrunning engineering works on the Brighton mainline compounded problems for commuters. Rush-hour trains from the south coast were cancelled or delayed by up to an hour, with only about three in five trains on the normal timetable scheduled to run for the rest of the day.
The owners of the troubled franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway, had earlier ruled out further talks with the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT), whose members went on strike over proposed changes to the role of conductors.
The RMT called for immediate face-to-face talks on Tuesday, prompted by comments on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme by the GTR chief executive, Charles Horton, apparently guaranteeing a second staff member on all trains that currently have a conductor – a sticking point in the dispute. The union’s general secretary, Mick Cash, said in a letter to Horton that this contradicted what he had been told by Southern executives last week.
Horton said he would meet Cash, and asked the union to call off this week’s strike to show serious intent and allow productive talks to take place. However, the rail company said that Cash was deliberately distorting Horton’s comments, and that there was no change in its position, dampening any prospect of a successful resolution in any fresh talks.
The strike was set to continue on Wednesday despite the agreement to meet, with the RMT mounting picket lines again outside stations including London Victoria and Brighton.
On Tuesday, Southern had been intending to run about 61% of its normal timetable, before the additional problems caused by engineering work. Network Rail apologised for a breakdown that meant the railway between Gatwick and Brighton only reopened to trains at 7.20am. Rush hour at Victoria, Southern’s biggest hub, was quieter than usual as trains failed to arrive, station staff said.
Speaking on a picket line outside the station, Paul Cox, the RMT’s regional organiser, claimed commuters remained sympathetic, despite the disruption. He said: “This is only our 10th day of strike action and they know the reality on Southern – they see through the myth of unofficial industrial action.”
Earlier, Horton had told Today that the reasons for the dispute had ended. The company claims the union told its conductor members to accept a deal last week. The RMT said it has advised individuals to accept new contracts to rebrand conductors as onboard supervisors, as they were otherwise threatened with dismissal.
Paul Maynard, the rail minister, said: “It is disappointing that passengers once again face needless and unjustified strike action by the RMT after the union advised its members to accept the new roles being offered by the operator. The union leaders have continually rejected a deal that protects jobs and ensures that conductors will carry on delivering safe, accessible and more reliable rail services. I call on RMT to put passengers first and stop this damaging action.”
But at Victoria, Cox warned: “The strikes are just going to continue until they come to their senses. They’ve put a hardline management in place and we’ve just got to break them down.”
Some Conservative MPs have called on the government to take action, but Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, is believed to be reluctant to get directly involved, believing a direct public confrontation would only benefit the RMT.
But more rail franchises are expected to mandate fewer staff on trains to reduce costs, potentially spreading the row over the safety role of guards throughout the railway. The RMT on Tuesday made a fresh demand that the Merseytravel authority abandon “reckless” plans to introduce driver-only trains on Merseyrail.
