SOUTHERN GUARDS’ BATTLE ROLLS ON

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2016 :: RMTnews 5 Govia Thameslink Railway bosses have sparked further strike action on Southern Rail by refusing to drop plans for Driver-Only Operation. RMT had made a conciliatory offer to suspend the five-days of action in order to retain a guard on every train as Scotrail had already conceded but GTR bosses flatly refused. Industry sources have revealed that top government official Peter Wilkinson – the man who bragged at a Tory party meeting that he wanted a “punch up” with unions and described staff as “muppets” – was responsible for wrecking talks. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said that it was clear right from the start that there was no serious intent from GTR to engage in genuine negotiations and that their script was being written from behind the scenes by their government paymasters. “You would have thought they would have taken our arm off when we offered to suspend the action in return for a series of guarantees that simply mirror the proposals from Scotrail just days earlier. “But the person running this circus wasn’t even in the room and he had clearly told Govia to stonewall, reject and wreck the talks, as they are paid directly by the government on this contract that is exactly what they have done. “Our action in defence of rail safety and the safety critical role of the guard now goes on and passengers caught in the middle of this will be rightly furious that the talks that could have resolved this issue were sabotaged by Mr Wilkinson and his team. “Passengers will be well aware that Mr Wilkinson commutes from Vienna and is paid £280,000 a year as a government hit-man. “Compared to the progress we have been able to make on Scotrail it is clear as day that GTR is being set up as a testing ground for a national union- busting experiment. “That nonsense should be stop and we should get back to normal industrial relations, free from outside interference,” he said. The union also slammed "lies and smears" over the Southern Rail guards ballot that have been recycled by a number of news outlets including the BBC. The facts are that 393 members were balloted, 321 voted, representing over 80 per cent of members, and 306 voted yes, representing over 77 per cent of the total membership. These numbers easily outstrip the hurdles proposed for union ballots by the Tory right in terms of both turnout and the majority in favour of action. “That is a mandate the politicians could only dream of and to try and pretend that only a minority back the action as the BBC have this morning is disgraceful and shoddy journalism. "It's interesting that no one ever challenges the mandate of the unelected and unaccountable GTR bosses who have unleashed havoc on their passengers for months," Mick Cash said. SOUTHERN GUARDS’ BATTLE ROLLS ON Rail bosses reject offer to suspend action if company matches Scotrail offer on guards and safety