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| Southern rail: RMT offers to suspend strike for new talks | Southern rail: RMT offers to suspend strike for new talks |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A five-day strike on Southern trains will be suspended on Thursday and Friday if the company agrees to new talks without pre-conditions, the RMT union has said. | A five-day strike on Southern trains will be suspended on Thursday and Friday if the company agrees to new talks without pre-conditions, the RMT union has said. |
| But the rail firm said it was not prepared to talk unless the RMT was willing to discuss an eight-point plan, rejected last Friday. | But the rail firm said it was not prepared to talk unless the RMT was willing to discuss an eight-point plan, rejected last Friday. |
| Southern has cancelled 946 services each day since action began on Monday. | Southern has cancelled 946 services each day since action began on Monday. |
| It has called the strike "pointless, needless and senseless". | It has called the strike "pointless, needless and senseless". |
| Passengers plan to protest outside the Department for Transport (DfT) in central London on Wednesday evening. | Passengers plan to protest outside the Department for Transport (DfT) in central London on Wednesday evening. |
| Live updates on Southern strike | Live updates on Southern strike |
| The RMT is fighting plans by Southern owner Govia Thameslink (GTR) to turn conductors into "on-board supervisors" from 21 August, with drivers taking over responsibility for opening and closing carriage doors. | |
| RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "The company [GTR] knows that prescriptive pre-conditions would not allow genuine talks to take place. | RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "The company [GTR] knows that prescriptive pre-conditions would not allow genuine talks to take place. |
| "In an effort to break the deadlock and get the talks process moving, RMT is prepared to suspend strike action set for Thursday and Friday if Southern agree to urgent talks without pre-conditions. The ball is now in their court." | "In an effort to break the deadlock and get the talks process moving, RMT is prepared to suspend strike action set for Thursday and Friday if Southern agree to urgent talks without pre-conditions. The ball is now in their court." |
| 'Fair and comprehensive' | |
| But a Southern spokesman said: "We have made the RMT a fair and comprehensive eight-point offer and we'll meet them any time, any place, anywhere to talk about our offer on our network to settle this dispute. | |
| "This strike has to stop and has to stop now." | |
| Last Friday the RMT called on GTR to match terms being offered by ScotRail in a similar dispute. | |
| Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said on Tuesday: "There is absolutely no excuse for the RMT strikes which are designed to stop essential improvements of passengers' journeys. | Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said on Tuesday: "There is absolutely no excuse for the RMT strikes which are designed to stop essential improvements of passengers' journeys. |
| "The union should accept the generous offer being made to them by the train operator and get their members back to work." | "The union should accept the generous offer being made to them by the train operator and get their members back to work." |
| The Campaign for Better Transport and the Association of British Commuters want passengers to join a march from London Victoria from 17:30 BST. | The Campaign for Better Transport and the Association of British Commuters want passengers to join a march from London Victoria from 17:30 BST. |
| They will present a 6ft-tall letter to rail minister Paul Maynard calling on him to attend a "passenger assembly" to answer questions, freeze fares for a year and arrange better compensation for customers affected by the dispute. | They will present a 6ft-tall letter to rail minister Paul Maynard calling on him to attend a "passenger assembly" to answer questions, freeze fares for a year and arrange better compensation for customers affected by the dispute. |
| 'Sick and tired' | |
| The recently-formed association said it was "sick and tired of the delayed, overcrowded and unreliable services we must endure". | The recently-formed association said it was "sick and tired of the delayed, overcrowded and unreliable services we must endure". |
| Association spokeswoman Summer Dean, from Brighton, told BBC Sussex: "I would like to see some respect. Passengers are being held to ransom in this dispute and it's about time government stepped in." | Association spokeswoman Summer Dean, from Brighton, told BBC Sussex: "I would like to see some respect. Passengers are being held to ransom in this dispute and it's about time government stepped in." |
| Before the latest strike, Southern cut 341 services a day from its weekday timetable to improve reliability. | Before the latest strike, Southern cut 341 services a day from its weekday timetable to improve reliability. |
| But Ms Dean said travellers were still "spending hours getting home, missing out on seeing family and friends and putting children to bed" and there was no date for the regular timetable to resume. | But Ms Dean said travellers were still "spending hours getting home, missing out on seeing family and friends and putting children to bed" and there was no date for the regular timetable to resume. |
| A rail users group in east Surrey has accused Southern of a "criminal, epic fail" by running eight trains an hour through Redhill each evening during the strike without any stopping. | A rail users group in east Surrey has accused Southern of a "criminal, epic fail" by running eight trains an hour through Redhill each evening during the strike without any stopping. |
| The Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users' Association said passengers were "forced to travel to Gatwick Airport then catch taxis, costing £15 to £20, back to Redhill". | The Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users' Association said passengers were "forced to travel to Gatwick Airport then catch taxis, costing £15 to £20, back to Redhill". |
| Southern said routing a train to call at Redhill would take "enough extra time to cause a detrimental knock-on effect to the whole timetable" but said it would now "review what might be able to be done". |