DOO strikes must end
The three features about the Driver Only Operation dispute ( RAIL 861, 862, 864) left readers to draw their own conclusions.
In principle, I agree with the RMT that there should be a second person on board to deal with the passengers, leaving the driver to concentrate on the safety of the train.
The train operating companies have stated that they have no intention of removing on-board staff except in exceptional circumstances, so any variation should be sorted out by discussion or (if need be) in the courts.
If this dispute is genuinely about safety, why didn’t the RMT carry out a publicity campaign first to win public support, and then - if this didn’t produce the desired result - refuse to operate the new trains?
The TOCs, with expensive trains on their books standing idle in sidings, would still be forced into discussions. That way there would be no need to involve the travelling public, and RMT members wouldn’t lose any pay.
It has become patently obvious that this is a politically motivated dispute, with the goalposts constantly being moved. It started out as a dispute over who closes the doors, now they’re refusing to operate any train without a guard under any circumstances.
All the utterings from the RMT have been confrontational and provocative, and they seem hell-bent on keeping this dispute running for as long as possible. They’ve chosen to attack the very people they wish to win over (namely the travelling public) by choosing the busiest days to go on strike (such as school holidays, bonfire night and sports events), thereby turning a valid argument into all-out war that benefits no one.
Unfortunately, the RMT leadership seems to be locked into a 1970s mindset when union militancy was at its zenith, using the same out-of-date arguments to take industrial action for political reasons.
Unless or until there’s a third box to tick on ballot papers - namely ‘No to industrial action’ - those who just want to go to work to earn a living will be forced to either go on strike or cross a picket line. If it goes on for too long it will just fizzle out, because workers won’t be able to afford to lose any more wages.
This industrial action is so unnecessary, bringing not only the trade union movement into disrepute, but the entire rail industry as a result. Mike Thompson, Plymouth