| Train
guards vote to strike over safety issues
North
London Line likely to be affected but South West Trains will continue
to operate
A change of national rail policy that switches the responsibility
for a train in the event of an accident from the guard to the driver,
has caused uproar amongst guards. The RMT balloted some 4,000 guards
claiming the amendments in the role of the guard would reduce safety
and therefore the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.
The train guards working for Connex, South Central, Thames Trains,
Silverlink and Virgin are amongst those in support of the strike
action however, staff of South West Trains rejected the plan. Silverlink
operate the North London Line which serves mainline stations at
Acton Central, South Acton, Gunnersbury and Kew Bridge.
The
RMT have not yet announced any planned dates for action but claim
that 12 out of 14 of the rail operators are in favour of the action
that will predictably bring chaos but not total shutdown of routes,
as driver-only operated services will continue to run.
The decision to change the roles was taken by Railtrack (now Network-Rail)
which claimed it would improve safety and establish clear responsibility,
an explanation the union disagrees with. Bob Crow, the RMT leader,
said today: "Our members have voted overwhelmingly for industrial
action to defend the role of the guard." He said the figures
showed the "widespread anger" at changes in the guards'
role and went on to say "The RMT believes safety must always
come first. We will not rest until the guard's full role is back
in the rulebook." The dispute over the guards' role has been
growing for some time and has caused previous strikes.
London Assembly Conservatives have called for new legislation to
include a no-strike clause. Roger Evans, Tory transport committee
spokesman, said: "Again Londoners are faced with the prospect
of travel chaos as a result of strike action. A no-strike agreement
is the only option if commuters are going to be spared from an action."
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