Rail union bosses have been slammed after posting a picture of showing them enjoying a holiday while thousands of commuters face travel misery due to strikes.
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The strike by Southern Rail workers has been called off – but trains to Gatwick airport are still expected to be busier than usual tomorrow.
But not all commuters’ woes have been abated – a strike timetable affecting the train-planning system remains in place.
Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, told his members Southern was now prepared to enter into negotiations “without any preconditions” and that members should report for work from 22:00 BST on Wednesday.
Eurostar said it had been “working to find a joint resolution” with the RMT but refused to be drawn on any imminent talks.
But the RMT union thinks it could jeopardise safety.
United Kingdom labor union RMT plans strikes on Eurostar International Ltd. services this weekend and in late August to protest what it says is the rail operator’s failure to live up to a scheduling program for train managers.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will postpone walkouts set for Thursday August 11 and Friday August 12 if Southern agree to urgent talks without pre-conditions.
“For our passengers’ sake, we truly hope these talks will be productive and bring this long-running dispute to an end”, a spokseman for the firm said.
Strike action has been staged four times in the space of three months. Regrettably, this means tomorrow’s service will be based upon the present strike timetable, but we will do our very best to add services in and extend the hours of operation wherever possible. “We will update our website www.southernrailway.com as further information becomes available”. This strike has inconvenienced people needlessly and I am glad to see RMT sitting round the table as I called for yesterday.
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The RMT said the dispute centres on Eurostar’s failure to honour an agreement from 2008, “which sought to ensure that train managers could expect a good work-life balance in terms of unsocial hours and duty rosters”. To make sure that passengers will be on their way during the strike days, the company made some small changes to the train schedule. The company notes that passengers who will be affected by the union’s plans will be notified beforehand.
