Strikes Look Set To Continue Despite Saturday's Cancellation
South Western Railway expect next two days of industrial action to proceed
RMT members demonstrate
The strike by the RMT Union on South Western Railway (SWR) on Saturday 10 November was cancelled a few days before it was due to take place. However, the rail company believe that the industrial action scheduled for the next two Saturdays is still going to proceed.
A revised timetable for the next strike day on 17 November will be published closer to the date.
SWR has stated a reduced service will run on their network on strike days but timetables may vary from day to day.
SWR say they aim to run 60% of trains but, during previous strike days, services on the Hounslow Loop have been severely reduced or cancelled altogether.
The union say the strikes are necessary because management is refusing to engage in serious talks over guards whereas SWR say the RMT is ‘needlessly’ disrupting the service.
RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash said, "There's a simple solution to this dispute and it means SWR stop playing with words and negotiate the guard guarantee that reflects the safety values of the agreements RMT has pinned down in other parts of the rail industry.”
A SWR spokesperson said, “We have guaranteed a guard to be rostered on every single service, and our growth plans mean more guards, not fewer. It is time for the union to stop spreading myths and causing misery to our customers and colleagues, and commit to resolving this dispute.
“If the union decides to continue with its unnecessary action, we will do everything we can to keep our customers moving and reduce disruption.”
SWR are providing live updates on services during the strikes.
November 11, 2018