THE RMT union has claimed that the response from its members to the first day of a 48-hour strike of Southern conductors has been 'rock solid', but Southern said two-thirds of its trains had run yesterday.
Services are being disrupted for a second day by a dispute over proposed extensions to driver-only operation, which Southern's owner Govia Thameslink Railway says will mean a better service for passengers. The operator has also denied union allegations that safety would be put at risk by putting door control in the hands of drivers, and has accused the RMT of 'scaremongering'.
There is also disagreement about what is being done to solve the dispute. The RMT said it 'remains available for meaningful talks', but Southern responded that the union had refused to join discussions at ACAS, and appealed to the RMT to begin negotiations.
A spokesman for Southern said: "This strike by the RMT is completely unnecessary and causes undue misery to our passengers. No staff would lose their jobs under our proposals or see a reduction in their salary, whilst passengers would benefit by having more visible staff on trains. We urge the RMT to come back to the negotiating table.
“As many trains will be staffed as today – we simply want to evolve the role of our on board staff to make them more visible and available to passengers. In addition, services won't be cancelled if an on-board supervisor is not available. That in itself -- particularly in times of disruption -- is a massive bonus for our passengers."
The strike has disrupted services and many trains are being cancelled, particularly on local lines. Main line services have been closer to normal, and Southern is hoping that there will be more evening trains today than last night.
The company warned: "While we are working to run as many trains as possible, on some routes there will be no train service at all and on others it will be significantly reduced and start late and finish early.”
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Our guards members on Southern are rock-solid and determined this morning as they begin this phase of industrial action in defense of the life-or-death services they provide for the travelling public and against cash-driven cuts that would see those services hacked to ribbons.
“Let us be crystal clear – this dispute is about safety and the safety-critical role of the guards. The company, with an eye on ever-fatter profits, is prepared to axe the guards on some of the most overcrowded and potentially-dangerous services in Britain so that they can squeeze every last penny out of their passengers regardless of the consequences. That is a lethal gamble with safety in the name of profit and that is why we have been forced to take strike action.
"The consequences of removing guards, the human eyes and ears on that dangerous interface between crowded platforms and crowded trains, is blindingly obvious to anyone but the rip-off merchants running this deeply unpopular rail franchise."
Four more days of industrial action have been called in May unless progress is made to resolve the dispute.