Northern and RMT talks break down again

As industrial action continues on Northern, talks between the operator and the RMT union have broken down.

The dispute centres on the future role of the guard and the introduction of Driver Only Operation. As this issue of RAIL went to press, the latest strike took place on December 8 - the 39th day of action so far in the dispute.

Talks had been held between Northern and RMT via conciliation service ACAS on December 4, but ended with both sides accusing the other of collapsing the talks.

RMT wants there to be an absolute guarantee of a second member of staff being on board, and that they will be safetycritical with the full suite of competencies, including dispatch at the platform/train interface.

General Secretary Mick Cash claimed Northern sent a bulletin to staff making it clear that the ACAS talks were nothing but a stunt to buy time “and try and hoodwink the union into suspending action”.

He said: “Even after we eventually got in the room with Northern, it was clear that they were either unwilling or unable to address the union’s position on the three key points we have set out and the fundamental issues at the heart of the dispute.

“RMT is sick of being treated with contempt and taken for a ride by those at the controls of the basket-case Northern Rail franchise and their paymasters in Government. Their cynical actions have collapsed the talks process, and the programme of strike action remains on. And the blame for that lies fair and square with the company.”

Northern Deputy Managing Director Richard Allan said on December 4: “Today at ACAS talks, Northern went into the meeting with an open mind, and made it clear we wish to continue discussions and all options will be considered that involve the deployment of two members of staff on Northern services.

“Any customer who needs help with access, personal security, information, ticketing and so on will have a member of staff, in addition to the driver, on-board trains to help them.”

Allan said Northern looked forward to more talks at ACAS.

Two days later, Transport for the North said that Northern and RMT should get back into negotiations. TfN said it supports having a second person on trains. “The sentiment surrounding what the North’s passengers are going through remains. Performance levels are still poor, and the strength of feeling that something needs to change is undiluted,” said TfN Chief Executive Barry White.