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

South Western workers picket outside Waterloo Station in London in January 2018 (Rex Features)

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.”