Southern Railways strike: 14-day industrial action announced by rail company workers

A series of walkouts have been held in recent months in protest against changes to the role of conductors at Southern

Southern services have been hit by a shortage of staff and strikes in a row over the role of conductors (PA)

Southern Railway workers are to stage 14 days of strike action in five blocks from next month in the long running dispute over the role of conductors.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union announced an escalation of industrial action which will bring fresh travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The strikes will start on 11 October and will be held intermittently until 8 December.

The union has held a series of walkouts in recent months in protest against changes to the role of conductors at Southern, which is owned by Govia Thameslink Railway.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Yet again our members are being forced to take industrial action in a bid to maintain a safe and secure service on Southern.

“Govia Thameslink and the Government have made it clear that they have no interest in resolving this dispute.

"Instead they have begun the process of bulldozing through the drive towards wholesale driver-only operation (DOO) without agreement and without any concern for the impact on safety, security and disability access.

“Last week there was a train derailment near Watford that involved two trains. The guards on both trains played a vital role in protecting the passengers and the trains in what were extremely frightening circumstances.

"If the train had been DOO and without a guard, the consequences would have been far worse.”

RMT members will not book on for any shifts on the following dates, from 00:01 on the first day of action to 23:59 on the last day: 11 to 13 October; 18 to 20 October; 3 to 5 November; 22 and 23 November; and 6 to 8 December.