This week’s Southern strikes are set to go ahead with RMT dismissing Govia deadline as “more threats and bullying”
Govia Thameslink Railway (the parent company of Southern Railway) is playing hardball.
It's now told the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union it will rescind its "full and comprehensive offer" if strike action, planned for later this week (4 and 5 November) goes ahead.
Essentially, it's the last chance for RMT to accept GTR's previously outlined eight-point offer to settle the nine-month (yes, it's been that long) dispute.
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The offer includes a five-year jobs guarantee, above inflation pay rises for two years, guaranteed minimum levels of overtime and more trains having a safety-trained person on board.
In a letter to RMT's national secretary Mick Cash, GTR's HR director Andy Bindon said: "There have now been 15 days of wholly unjustified strikes, with your union now set to inflict a further seven days of disruption and misery on passengers in the coming weeks. Your unnecessary action is continuing to have a material and negative impact on people's work and family lives as well the regional economy and I urge you to stop."
It offered to meet the RMT at any time this week, should the union want to discuss the offer.
But the RMT has dismissed the offer as "more threats and bullying from Southern Rail", saying it does nothing to resolve the current safety dispute.
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"It is also completely meaningless as the union has already rejected the £2,000 bribe to sell out safety and the company is well aware of that," said Mick Cash. "The union remains available for serious talks and we would repeat the call to transport secretary Chris Grayling to get out of his bunker, get hold of the Southern management and get round the table."
RMT is holding a national rally at Parliament tomorrow lunchtime in support of its argument for safe services on Southern Rail.
Current strike dates are set for 00.01 Friday 4 November to 23.59 Saturday 5 November, 00.01 Tuesday 22 November to 23:59 Wednesday 23 November and 00:01 Tuesday 6 December to 23:59 Thursday 8 December.
The ongoing dispute has focused on the role of the guards, and Aslef and the RMT have recently announced fresh ballots among Southern drivers for more industrial action.
An excerpt from Andy Bindon's letter to Mick Cash:
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