Protest to mark rail dispute’s landmark

PLANS ARE being finalised for a protest to mark the second anniversary of the start of the bitter disputes over the role of guards on trains.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union is embroiled in rows with South Western Railway, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North, Greater Anglia and Southern, where the row started in April 2016.

The union will hold a rally in Westminster on April 25, followed by a meeting in Parliament, to be addressed by politicians and campaigners.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “The sheer grit and determination of our members to put public safety before private profit over the past two years is a credit to the trade union movement and the communities they are standing up for.

“We will be demonstrating outside Parliament to show that we are as determined now as we were two years ago to defend the role of the guard on the train and the basic principles of passenger safety and accessibility.

“RMT has successfully secured agreements in both Wales and Scotland that lock-in the guard guarantee and if it’s good enough for Wales and Scotland to put safety and the role of the guard centre stage then it should be good enough for the rest of Britain as well.”

The union has staged a series of strikes and other forms of industrial action since the dispute started.