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Rail strikes due in new year over RMT guards row Rail strikes due in new year over RMT guards row
(about 1 hour later)
Train strikes are looming in the new year as rail workers plan a series of 24-hour walkouts in the long-running row over the role of guards.Train strikes are looming in the new year as rail workers plan a series of 24-hour walkouts in the long-running row over the role of guards.
RMT members at five train operating companies will walk out on 8, 10 and 12 January. RMT members at five operators will walk out on 8, 10 and 12 January. Workers at Southern will strike on 8 January.
Those involved are South Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, Northern and the Isle of Wight's Island Line. The five involved are South Western Railway (SWR), Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, Northern and the Isle of Wight's Island Line run by SWR.
Workers at Southern will take industrial action on 8 January. Northern rail said it would work to keep customers on the move.
The union said it had tried to resolve the bitter disputes, which it has insisted are about safety. Greater Anglia said it would run a full service on all the strike days.
The other companies affected have not yet commented to the BBC.
The union said it had tried to resolve the bitter row over driver-only operation (DOO) of trains and has insisted the dispute is about safety.
What are driver-only-operated trains?
General secretary Mick Cash said: "Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with the different train operating companies over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces.General secretary Mick Cash said: "Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with the different train operating companies over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces.
"We are left with no option but to confirm a further phase of industrial action in the new year.""We are left with no option but to confirm a further phase of industrial action in the new year."
'Government offer'
He added: "It is frankly ludicrous that we have been able to negotiate long-term arrangements in Scotland and Wales that protect the guards and passenger safety but we are being denied the same opportunities with rail companies in England."
He said the RMT stood "ready for talks" in each of the disputes.
Both Northern and Great Arriva said they had guaranteed conductors' jobs until the end of their franchises in 2025.
Richard Allan, deputy managing director of Northern, added that the government last week had written to the union guaranteeing employment for conductors beyond 2025 if the RMT ended its dispute.
However, the RMT has said the guarantee of jobs is not the issue. A union member told the BBC: "The issue is about the role of the guard and the guarantee of a second safety critical member of staff, and the push to DOO on more trains."
The Department for Transport has not yet commented.