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| South Western Railway strike: commuters face misery as walkout begins - live updates | South Western Railway strike: commuters face misery as walkout begins - live updates |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| All the latest news and reaction as the first of a month-long series of strikes to hit southern England begins | All the latest news and reaction as the first of a month-long series of strikes to hit southern England begins |
| The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a business networking and support organisation, has said the strikes will have a “detrimental impact” on key sectors of London’s economy. | |
| Sean McKee, director of policy and public affairs at London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “London businesses recognise the right to strike, but this prolonged strike action is a cynical move deliberately designed to cause inconvenience to the travelling public in the run to, and through, Christmas. It will have a detrimental impact to key sectors of the capital’s economy, which rely upon festive and tourism trade.” | |
| McKee added: “With peak services under increased pressure due to so many cancellations, and long queues expected at busy stations, it’s sadly inevitable that this cynically long strike will have an impact on commuting workers and businesses during peak commuting times. With trains due to finish earlier it will also impact shift work and the night time economy – key to the festive economy.” | |
| While commuting has been a nightmare for most passengers using South Western Railway this morning, the Guardian’s editor for community, Caroline Bannock, had, to her surprise, a problem-free journey. | |
| She said: “On Monday morning at 6.30am Salisbury station car park can be quiet, but on the first day of the 27 day strike by RMT staff at South Western Railway, it was nearly empty. | |
| “The train departures board in the station showed that all the trains were running on time and there was no reduced service during heavy commuter times before 0800. After that trains were scheduled every hour, instead of every half hour. | “The train departures board in the station showed that all the trains were running on time and there was no reduced service during heavy commuter times before 0800. After that trains were scheduled every hour, instead of every half hour. |
| “The 6.47am left Salisbury on time. From Basingstoke, it was standing room only on my train, which didn’t bode well for the next stop Woking. However the platform there was almost empty when we pulled in around 0745. | |
| “The train arrived at London Waterloo on time at 0816. That’s the first time that’s happened in a while.” | “The train arrived at London Waterloo on time at 0816. That’s the first time that’s happened in a while.” |
| Lucky for some ... | |
| Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the RMT, told Sky News this morning that the strikes were about safety, not pay. | Steve Hedley, the senior assistant general secretary of the RMT, told Sky News this morning that the strikes were about safety, not pay. |
| He said: “This dispute is not about more money and it’s not about a shorter working week. It’s about the safety role of the guard. Eight out of 10 most serious accidents happen on driver-only operated trains. Assaults have gone up over 100% in the last five years on driver-only operated trains. Sexual assaults have gone up 140% in the past five years. | He said: “This dispute is not about more money and it’s not about a shorter working week. It’s about the safety role of the guard. Eight out of 10 most serious accidents happen on driver-only operated trains. Assaults have gone up over 100% in the last five years on driver-only operated trains. Sexual assaults have gone up 140% in the past five years. |
| “It’s critical that there’s a guard there and a guard has safety responsibility for that train.” | “It’s critical that there’s a guard there and a guard has safety responsibility for that train.” |
| When asked whether 27 days of commuter chaos was a way to fix the issues, he raised, Hedley said: “It’s the only option that people have left. We’ve called off strikes in the summer and early autumn because we thought we were very, very close to a deal. | When asked whether 27 days of commuter chaos was a way to fix the issues, he raised, Hedley said: “It’s the only option that people have left. We’ve called off strikes in the summer and early autumn because we thought we were very, very close to a deal. |
| “In fact, three weeks ago we had a deal on the table that everybody had agreed to that had been safety validated … And then that had been pulled and our members our absolutely furious. Look, no one wants to lose 27 days of pay coming up to Christmas, they don’t want to do that, but they’ve already lost nearly 40 days of pay over the past two years.” | “In fact, three weeks ago we had a deal on the table that everybody had agreed to that had been safety validated … And then that had been pulled and our members our absolutely furious. Look, no one wants to lose 27 days of pay coming up to Christmas, they don’t want to do that, but they’ve already lost nearly 40 days of pay over the past two years.” |
| You can watch the interview with Kay Burley below. | You can watch the interview with Kay Burley below. |
| Talks between the two sides collapsed last week, with the union and company blaming each other for the strike action. | Talks between the two sides collapsed last week, with the union and company blaming each other for the strike action. |
| The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: | The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: |
| Meanwhile, a South Western Railway spokesman said: | Meanwhile, a South Western Railway spokesman said: |
| Richard Clarke, who works in insurance and travels between Farncombe and Waterloo, sent this photo of his train this morning. | Richard Clarke, who works in insurance and travels between Farncombe and Waterloo, sent this photo of his train this morning. |
| Clarke said: “I am on the 7.01 and it is horrendous, full and standing once we left Guildford. | Clarke said: “I am on the 7.01 and it is horrendous, full and standing once we left Guildford. |
| “The trains, unsurprisingly when you consider their recent performance, were delayed. As expected, I didn’t get a seat and once we had left Guildford (the stop after mine) the train was so full that no one could even force their way on once we arrived at Woking. One lady tried to but gave up, turned around and left.” | “The trains, unsurprisingly when you consider their recent performance, were delayed. As expected, I didn’t get a seat and once we had left Guildford (the stop after mine) the train was so full that no one could even force their way on once we arrived at Woking. One lady tried to but gave up, turned around and left.” |
| Some commuters are using the Twitter hashtag #swrstrike to vent their frustration about the strike. Here’s a selection from those commuting this morning. | Some commuters are using the Twitter hashtag #swrstrike to vent their frustration about the strike. Here’s a selection from those commuting this morning. |
| Are you taking part in or affected by the South Western rail strikes? We’d like to hear your experiences | Are you taking part in or affected by the South Western rail strikes? We’d like to hear your experiences |
| A month of strike action by South Western Railway (SWR) staff starts on Monday across its entire network. | A month of strike action by South Western Railway (SWR) staff starts on Monday across its entire network. |
| RMT union members will walk out every day of the month apart from 1 December, 12 December – election day – and 25 and 26 December. | RMT union members will walk out every day of the month apart from 1 December, 12 December – election day – and 25 and 26 December. |
| We want to hear about how the strikes have affected you or will affect you in the weeks to come. Are you a member of the RMT taking part in the strikes? What are your main reasons for doing so? Are you you are a commuter who uses SWR? How do you expect your journey to be affected? How do you feel about the strikes taking place? | We want to hear about how the strikes have affected you or will affect you in the weeks to come. Are you a member of the RMT taking part in the strikes? What are your main reasons for doing so? Are you you are a commuter who uses SWR? How do you expect your journey to be affected? How do you feel about the strikes taking place? |
| Morning, my name is Aamna Mohdin and I’m running the live blog on the South Western Railway (SWR) strike. SWR is one of the busiest commuter lines in the country – used by about 600,000 passengers daily – and all who use the service are expected to be affected. | Morning, my name is Aamna Mohdin and I’m running the live blog on the South Western Railway (SWR) strike. SWR is one of the busiest commuter lines in the country – used by about 600,000 passengers daily – and all who use the service are expected to be affected. |
| Here’s some background from our transport correspondent, Gwyn Topham. He reports: | Here’s some background from our transport correspondent, Gwyn Topham. He reports: |
| I’ll be bringing all the action and keeping you updated with all the developments. To send me tips, your best bet is to tweet me @aamnamohdin | I’ll be bringing all the action and keeping you updated with all the developments. To send me tips, your best bet is to tweet me @aamnamohdin |