Rail Strikes Spread

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Southern rail workers during their strike to keep the guard on the train picketing outside Brighton station earlier this month
Southern rail workers during their strike to keep the guard on the train picketing outside Brighton station earlier this month

RAIL strikes are spreading with RMT announcing yesterday a 24 hour strike action on Virgin trains East Coast over the threat to nearly 200 jobs.

The strike begins at one minute past midnight on Monday 3rd October and continues until 11.59pm that evening. This comes after railway workers on Southern Rail have called a fresh bout of strike action, 14 days of strike action in five blocks over attempts by the company to remove conductors from trains.

The first of five sets of strike dates will be a three day strike starting on Tuesday 11 October at 11.59pm. On the Virgin East Coast strike, RMT said: ‘Nearly 200 jobs across the franchise are threatened by the cuts. ‘Those staff remaining will be expected to cover the work of the deleted posts piling intolerable pressure on all sections of the workforce.’

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: ‘We will not sit back while nearly 200 members’ jobs are under threat and while conditions and safety are put at risk by a franchise which is clearly in financial trouble. We will also not tolerate the cavalier attitude to safety that is now on show as the company mobilises its scab army of managers.

‘The company have chosen to treat the negotiations as a game up to now, merely going through the motions and playing for time. To behave like that is to treat the union and its members with pure contempt.’

Meanwhile Southern Rail protesters will descend on Victoria railway station on Thursday evening to protest against chaos for passengers and staff caused by the company, for which the government is ultimately responsible.

The #SouthernJustice campaign is currently crowdfunding a judicial review into the Department for Transport’s (DfT) response to the ‘catastrophic failure’ of Southern. Supported by the Association of British Commuters (ABC), commuters are encouraged to bring ‘judges wigs, robber outfits and swagbags’ to the ‘justice-themed’ protest.