Strikes over driver only operation of trains have spread to the north of England with RMT union members walking out on Merseyrail and Northern Rail today, as well as a further one-day strike on Southern.
Merseyrail said it was unable to run its previously advertised timetable on Monday (13 March) because drivers, who were not part of the action by guards, had decided not to cross picket lines.
Merseyrail has ordered new driver only operated trains
The dispute is over the company’s acquisition of new trains configured for driver only operation.
The RMT said research showed that dividends paid out by Merseyrail were almost three times the cost of keeping guards.
General secretary Mick Cash said; ‘These figures show that up to a quarter of fare revenue is being sucked out of Merseyrail to pay for dividends of around £14m a year.
‘Merseyrail can easily afford to cough up and pay to keep our guards and if they don’t then Liverpool’s politicians should renegotiate Merseyrail’s contract.'
Northern said it planned to run around 300 extra rail replacement bus services to help keep the north of England on the move during planned industrial action on Monday, which also centres on the potential introduction of driver only operation.
Regional director Sharon Keith said: ‘Our proposals are still in the early stages, so it is disappointing that RMT is taking strike action on Monday 13 March, because there is lots of time to talk and agree how we modernise the way we provide customer service. As part of our proposals we are prepared to offer guarantees on jobs and pay to our people.’
Southern said it was aiming to run most of its services during the RMT’s latest strike over driver operation, which has already seen conductors (guards) transferred to new roles as on-board supervisors.
Passenger services director Angie Doll said: ‘We've shown that we can now run almost all our services during an RMT strike. Our on-board supervisors are now established in their roles and passengers are beginning to see the benefits of having someone whose sole job is customer service.’
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