South Western Rail strikes: Travel chaos looms as RMT union announce three-day walkout
Three-day strike planned for 21 June is latest in a long-running dispute over guards on trains
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rail passengers in southern England face a weekend of disruption in June as rail workers strike in the long-running dispute about the role of guards.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has announced a three-day strike on South Western Railway, starting at 00.01 on 21 June. This latest strike follows the announcement of two days of strikes on Greater Anglia scheduled for 16 June and 24 June.
The RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash, said in a statement:
“RMT has made every effort to progress talks with South Western Railway but there has been a total lack of goodwill from the company and as a consequence we have no option but to confirm this further round of industrial action.
“The responsibility for this escalation rests solely with the company who know full well that the union won’t stand aside while they play fast and loose with both the talks process and the safety and well-being of the general public.
“We have long detected the dead hand of the Government interfering to stop us reaching negotiated settlements in the current disputes and it’s about time Chris Grayling stopped playing politics with passenger safety and started taking the issue seriously. He should be putting pressure on his rail contractors to reach a settlement rather than encouraging this cavalier approach to passenger safety and disabled access.
“RMT remains committed to the principle of genuine and meaningful talks in this dispute.”
A spokesperson from South Western Railway told the Independent: We are very disappointed that the RMT has called for more strike action as we were engaged in positive dialogue with them in an effort to resolve this dispute, had offered further talks and were awaiting their response.
“We will do everything we can to minimise disruption to our passengers during this period of industrial action.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments