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| Southern Rail strike suspended following request by British Legion | Southern Rail strike suspended following request by British Legion |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A planned strike by Southern Rail workers has been suspended following a request by the British Legion. | A planned strike by Southern Rail workers has been suspended following a request by the British Legion. |
| The planned 72-hour walkout by the Rail and Maritime union (RMT) was the latest in a series of actions over a proposal to introduce driver-only trains. | |
| Unions argue that the plans to get rid of on-board conductors and make drivers responsible for closing all the doors on its commuter services because "passenger safety [must] be put before private profit". | Unions argue that the plans to get rid of on-board conductors and make drivers responsible for closing all the doors on its commuter services because "passenger safety [must] be put before private profit". |
| The strike was due to take place between 3 and 5 November when the British Legion is due to hold its annual poppy selling drive in UK railway stations. | |
| General secretary Mick Cash said: "This decision has been made after close consideration and following a personal request from the British Legion. | |
| "The union recognises the very special importance of that particular day and as a result has decided to suspend the action planned for November 3. The rest of the scheduled action goes ahead as planned." | |
| Negotiations between the company and the union remain gridlocked as of Thursday morning. | |
| The strikes have contributed to months of misery for commuters as the company cancelled hundreds of services with many more being delayed. | |
| Southern announced it will restore 63 more services to its timetables from Monday with a further 46 services returning by the end of the month. | |
| But 33 Gatwick Airport services will not resume until December due to the company's "autumn leaf-fall arrangements". | |
| More follows... | More follows... |