Thursday 07 June 2018 9:22 am

RMT announces three-day strike on South Western Railway over train guard spat

Further strike action will hit South Western Railway later this month as clashes with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union show now signs of abating.

The RMT has instructed members not to carry out their duties from the morning of Thursday 21 June to midnight on Saturday 23 June.

The three-day strike has been called owing to the dispute over the role of train guards.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “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.

“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."

SWR runs commuter services from the UK's busiest station – Waterloo. Later this year, an £800m upgrade will be completed to bolster capacity at the station by 30 per cent at peak times, with the reopening of the former Waterloo International Terminal.

A SWR spokesperson said: 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.”