Steve Trigg, chairman of passenger group Redhill, Reigate and District Rail Users’ Association, said yesterday: “The members of the RMT have guaranteed jobs, a good salary and a reasonable work/life balance”.
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Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is the rail company that owns Southern.
Stations were quieter than expected, but passengers complained of packed trains and a sense of hopelessness at being caught in the middle of the bitter dispute.
“We offered to suspend the action on Friday if they matched the offer we secured on Scotrail.
Our fight is with the company and the Government who have dragged this franchise into total meltdown”. “We share the anger and frustration of passengers and we can not sit back while jobs and safety are compromised on these dangerously overcrowded trains”, – RMT General Secretary Mick Cash defends the action.
Southern, which runs trains between London and its densely populated southern commuter belt, has seen months of one-day strikes and cancelations that it blamed on staff shortages.
The union believes safety would be affected if the role of conductors is changed, especially with the relentless rise in passenger numbers.
“The RMT is causing yet more misery for our passengers and we call on them to let this strike be the last”.
“Everyone is sick and exhausted of this pointless, needless and senseless strike, which is so damaging to people’s everyday lives and the South East economy, and causing undue disruption and hardship to customers and employees”.
By contrast, the RMT’s principal interest is not the passenger but its members, only 306 of whom backed strike action, though this number represented more than 70 per cent of those balloted.
Passengers, many paying thousands of pounds for an annual season ticket, are entitled to have modern trains that are not overcrowded and run on time. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;”I have written to Charles Horton calling for talks to get back underway immediately in the Southern guards dispute”.
The longest rail strike in the United Kingdom since 1968 began today with the start of a five-day rail strike by conductors on Southern rail services.
“Hundreds of trains have been cancelled in a row over plans for drivers, instead of conductors, to operate carriage doors on the trains”. “This dispute is about changes that would mean a better on-board service for passengers and less disruption when problems hit the railway”.
The two sides spent three days at the conciliation service Acas but the talks collapsed, with a deal further away than ever.
“This amounts to a continuation of the current operating model and delivers none of the punctuality and customer service benefits we are determined to deliver to our passengers”.
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Southern said its strike timetable was still running well as the evening peak approached, with no issues at stations and 88.5% of services on time.
