TALKS have started at ACAS in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute between Govia Thameslink Railway and the RMT over proposals to replace many Southern conductors with on-board supervisors, who would not control the doors or start the train. Southern has promised that there will be no pay cuts or compulsory job losses when most Southern trains are converted to driver-only operation.
But the discussions are taking place against a turbulent backdrop of accusations and denials, while one Sussex MP wants the franchise reviewed by the DfT because its performance is getting worse, with up to 90 trains a day currently being cancelled. Govia has published sharply increased sickness figures affecting its conductors, and the RMT has accused the company of cancelling some trains because of alleged staff shortages when train crews were actually available.
Govia has dismissed this claim as ‘ludicrous’, while the RMT said it was ‘sick and tired‘ of taking the blame for what it saw as ‘mismanagement’.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said GTR had created a ‘toxic’ working environment. He has already accused Southern managers of ‘bullying’ his members.
Writing in the June edition of Railnews, Govia Thameslink Railway chief executive Charles Horton said: “The railway men and women of Britain are overwhelmingly diligent and hard-working, and they care deeply about the rail service they provide. But they are being led astray, and misled repeatedly, by trade unions acting in their own narrow interests and ignoring the interests of either commuters or railway workers themselves. It’s time for those unions to get on board with these changes.”
Meanwhile, Crawley MP Henry Smith, who has been a frequent critic of Southern, is calling for a meeting about its industrial problems with the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, saying: "We need to start questioning the franchise now."
More talks at ACAS are understood to be planned for next week.