A NEW attempt to end the ten month driver-only operation dispute on Southern has been made by Govia Thameslink Railway.
GTR has given the RMT until midday on Thursday to agree fresh terms, which include a one-off 'implementation' payment of £2,000, plus previous assurances over job security until the end of the GTR franchise in 2021.
The RMT is being urged to allow its conductors to vote on the offer.
The new proposals have come ahead of a series of mainly three-day strikes which the RMT has called this autumn.
GTR said its eight-point offer includes guarantees on conductors’ jobs until 2021, the life of GTR's franchise agreement, above-inflation pay increases for the next two years and guaranteed levels of overtime.
The operator described its latest move as 'one final attempt to secure your engagement' to the migration of conductors to the new job of on-board supervisor – which includes responsibility for closing doors transferring to the driver.
GTR is also calling on the RMT to accept the offer in full or, as a minimum, to put its offer to a vote by conductors and suspend further 'unnecessary' strikes.
In a letter to RMT general secretary Mick Cash, GTR emphasises that if the union does not agree in principle to the full offer by midday on Thursday, it will 'regretfully proceed without the RMT's involvement' and serve notice letters to conductors affected, terminating their existing contracts and inviting them to sign up to the new OBS role to be effective from 1 January.
GTR has warned the union that the eight-point offer, the assurances made previously and the £2,000 lump sum payment may be withdrawn after Thursday's midday deadline.
Mr Cash has also been invited by GTR management to meet for urgent face-to-face talks with them directly or through ACAS to discuss their offer and the modernisation proposals.
Southern Railway has also launched a major public information campaign to inform passengers of its offer.
GTR chief executive Charles Horton said: "Everyone is sick and tired of this pointless and unnecessary dispute and we now need to bring a swift end to these strikes which have caused months of misery for hundreds of thousands of workers, children going to school, family days out and retired people. We have a responsibility to the travelling public and our staff and, after 10 months of dispute, these strikes are plaguing people's lives and enough is enough.
"The union and conductors have had an incredibly fair and comprehensive offer on the table for nearly two months with job security for at least five years, pay increases and overtime guaranteed. Today we are going the extra mile and offering our conductors a lump sum cash payment to be paid just after Christmas when they are getting on with their new roles giving fantastic service to our customers.
"We've given the RMT and our striking conductors a fair, clear and unambiguous plan that we intend to implement if they won’t do a deal. It's an incredibly reasonable offer and the union's arguments about safety and accessibility for disabled passengers are contrived. Independent experts have said that running trains with the driver closing the doors is safe and as a responsible operator we have always looked after customers with disabilities, and always will.
"The RMT needs to understand that this change is happening and we would prefer to work with them to ensure that it's achieved in a way that best protects the interests of our customers, our employees and the business. But no one should be in any doubt that the deadlines are fixed and immutable and we will press ahead if there is no deal by Thursday lunchtime. This dispute has to stop, and stop now."
The RMT has yet to comment.
Meanwhile, the RMT has described a 24-hour strike on Virgin Trains East Coast today as 'rock solid', following claims from the union that 200 jobs have been put at risk by changes to train staffing arrangements, although VTEC said it was maintaining a full service.
Mick Cash hit out at VTEC for using 'scabs' to keep trains running, He said: "If the company had put half the effort into resolving this dispute that they have piled into their scabbing plans we could have sorted the core issues that led to this strike. The union will be taking part in further talks later this week."