Southern Railway strike: Industrial action announced for six days over Christmas period

The first three-day action will start on 22 December

The strikes are over a row about changes to the role of conductors (file pic) (EPA)

There will be more travel misery for hundreds of thousands of passengers after Southen Railway workers announced another bout of strikes over the Christmas period.

There will be industrial action for three days from 22 December and another three days from New Year's Eve, the RMT union has said.

The strikes are over a row about changes to the role of conductors, and the announcement comes ahead of a 48 hour walkout from midnight on Friday.

Union members will strike from 12.01am on December 22 until 11.59pm on Christmas Eve, then again from 12.01am on New Year's Eve until 23.59pm on 2 January.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said Southern's owners, Govia Thameslink Railway, and the Government had made it clear they have no interest in resolving the long-running row.

"Yet again, the sheer pig-headedness of the company and the Government means that our members are being forced to take further industrial action in a bid to maintain a safe and secure service on Southern Rail," he said.

Union members have staged a series of strikes in recent months and the two sides have held hours of talks, but the dispute remains deadlocked.

Services have been disrupted for months, partly due to the strikes, staff shortages and other problems.

A damaged track caused chaos on Tuesday evening, leading commuters to warn of dangerously overcrowded trains and platforms.

Mr Cash repeated his call to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to "get out of his bunker" and try to help resolve the row.

He said: "He continues to ignore us. If Government ministers can meet with our colleagues from the Prison Officers Association over safety in prisons then there is no reason whatsoever why they can't meet with RMT over safety on our railways.

"This week we have seen repeated chaos on Southern Rail services that has shown once again that they are simply incapable of running safe and reliable services.

"The only obstacle to their removal from their management contract is the Government who are calling the shots and pulling the strings behind the scenes while publicly claiming the dispute is between RMT and GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway).

"It is total nonsense but is a tactic which is deliberately blocking any chance of progress.

"In the light of the continuing public anger at the absolute state of the Southern Rail operation it is disgraceful that neither the company or the Government are prepared to engage and are continuing to attempt to impose driver-only operation in the interests of putting profit before safety.

"We call on them to get round the negotiating table rather than jamming their heads in the sand."

Additional reporting by AP