Five days of rail strikes planned for Weymouth to Waterloo line

RMT has announced five days of strike action on South Western Railway over the guard guarantee and rolling out of driver only operation.

If they go ahead, strikes would take place from Tuesday, June 18 until Saturday, June 22.

Previous strike action was suspended in February after progress in talks with South Western Railway.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "Our members are angry and frustrated that despite suspending action in good faith, and entering into talks in a positive and constructive manner, South Western Railway have dragged their heels and failed to bolt down an agreement that matches up to our expectations on the guard guarantee.

"For more than three months we have sought to negotiate a conclusion to this dispute and it is wholly down to the management side that the core issue of the safety critical competencies and the role of the guard has not been signed off.

"It is because of that crucial failure by SWR that we have had no option but to lift the suspension and move back into strike action."

It is not yet clear which services will be affected if the strikes go ahead, or if a limited service will be arranged.

A spokesman for SWR said: "With further ACAS talks already in the diary for 17 June, for the RMT Union to call a week of strikes starting the following day shows there is not a genuine commitment to finding a solution.

“The union has always said it wanted us to keep the guard on every train which is what we have offered as part of a framework agreement.

"Now we want to move the conversation on to how we operate our new trains and take advantage of the new technology on board to benefit our customers.

"We remain committed to finding a solution that will help us build a better railway for our customers and colleagues alike.

"If these strikes go ahead, they will cause needless disruption.

"We are calling for the RMT to call off this unnecessary industrial action so that planned ACAS talks can go ahead."