RMT confirms three new strike dates on Northern

12th October 2018

As the ongoing disagreement at Northern rumbles on, the RMT have announced a further three days of Saturday strikes as the dispute passes 30 days of action.

The RMT have said that this long-running campaign is the result of Northern refusing to engage in serious and meaningful talks around the guard guarantee that could form the basis for a settlement.

All RMT Arriva Rail North Conductor, Conductor Instructor and Train Driver members had already been instructed to take action between 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Saturday 13th October 2018 and 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Saturday 20th October 2018. Following the new announcement they have now also been instructed to do the same on Saturday 27th October, Saturday 3rd November and Saturday 10th November 2018.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“RMT continues to make every effort to get serious and meaningful talks going with Northern but the company are not interested and would prefer to continue to bury their heads in the sand regardless of the impact on the travelling public.

“German-owned Northern Rail want to run nearly half a million trains a year without a safety critical guard on board in a move that would wreck both safety and access ‎to services and they should listen to their front-line staff and pull back from that plan immediately.

“RMT has secured agreements on other English franchises that enshrine the guard guarantee. Similar agreements have also been reached in Wales and Scotland. Arriva Rail North need to do the right thing and come to an agreement that secures a guard on their trains too.

“We thank the public for their support and understanding throughout this dispute over rail safety and access and the union remains ready for genuine and serious talks.”

Author: Darren Porter
Image: RMT