Strikes spread north
RMT industrial action over Driver-Only Operation spreads from Southern to Northern and Merseytravel.
THE RMT union has increased its opposition to Driver Only Operation (DOO), with strikes due on Southern, Merseyrail and Northern on Monday March 13, after this issue of RAIL went to press.
It is the 30th day of strike action on Southern in the past year, and the first on the other franchises. The union said that although the strikes were separate, they were being co-ordinated for maximum impact. Members working on Merseyrail have also been declining to work overtime on rest days indefinitely from March 7.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said the action “sends out the clearest possible message that the union is prepared to stand up and fight for public safety and the guard guarantee”. 81% of RMT members at Merseyrail and 83% at Northern voted for strike action.
Cash added that the union’s position was clear: “We will not agree to any introduction of DOO. RMT asked Merseyrail to give assurances that any new trains will have a second safety-critical crew member on board and that the guard will be retained on all services.”
Merseyrail plans to introduce a fleet of 52 new DOO trains from 2020 ( RAIL 817), but says none of the permanent guards or guard managers would lose their jobs. A spokesman said the firm has “pledged to do everything we can to bring the dispute to a satisfactory and swift conclusion”.
Transport Focus Chief Executive Anthony Smith told RAIL the action on Merseyside would be less damaging for passengers than on Southern.
“The big difference between the disputes in Liverpool and on Southern is that there are alternatives for passengers on Merseyside. That will reduce the impact of any strike or overtime ban. As we’ve seen with the recent shutting of the Mersey Tunnel to the Wirral, a very effective bus service can provide a reasonable alternative. And it’s still possible to drive your car into Liverpool to a degree.
“There’s an element of choice that hasn’t been there for passengers during the Southern strikes. I think that will stiffen the resolve of the local authorities to sit this out and fight the war of attrition.”
Smith added: “A Labour authority taking on the RMT is an extraordinary state of affairs that demonstrates how the union is out on a limb.”
A senior executive at Arriva, which owns the Northern franchise, told RAIL that the RMT was “determined to oppose any change to working arrangements whatsoever”, and was preparing to strike over decisions about future staffing that had not yet '
been taken.
Southern Railway expected to run a near-normal service on March 13, with about 90% of trains operating.
During the first industrial action in April last year, barely one in two services ran, with several routes having no trains at all. During recent strikes Southern has steadily increased the number of trains, with all routes now having some services. The operator described the RMT action as “increasingly impotent and ineffective”.
The RMT countered that it had no option but to strike again on Southern because of “the abject failure of Southern to meet with us”.
Southern claimed that it had asked the RMT executive to suspend action to allow talks to take place.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group said: “The strikes are not about safety, jobs or pay, but about changes to provide a better service for customers. Trains where drivers close the doors have run safely across Britain for more than 30 years, and independent experts say they are safe.”
Meanwhile, drivers’ union ASLEF continues to hold discussions with Southern, following its members’ unexpected rejection of a deal agreed by the two sides and brokered by the TUC ( RAIL 821). 54% of drivers voted against a resolution agreed by the union after 12 days of talks.
ASLEF said it was working to ensure there were no more walkouts, although it still had a mandate to strike. Neither ASLEF nor Southern have commented on their discussions, which are understood to be continuing.
@PaulCliftonBBC