Southern Rail strikes

[windy miller]

 Is it just me or are there many other commuters and enthusiasts alike who think this persistence with strikes over the guards dispute needs some government intervention? I hear there has been a suggestion that a group of commuters propose to sue the company for loss of employment due to persistent  strike action. True enough, although I have to agree that passenger safety would indeed be compromised if the train has no supervision it should NOT be the responsibility of the driver to ensure passenger safety. personally I think its time for a compromise..Surely IF the train has three carriages or less and operating local services where there is a ticketing facility available at each station then why not? On the other hand where the booked PVR is of 6,8,or 12 carriages and the curvature of the platform means that the driver has limited visibility and often having to rely on the despatcher(s) then Southern should get their brain in gear. Presumably the present 12 car formations in use with Thamelink on the Brighton-Bedford route have a second man?  >:(   

[Tony]

Is it just me or are there many other commuters and enthusiasts alike who think this persistence with strikes over the guards dispute needs some government intervention? I hear there has been a suggestion that a group of commuters propose to sue the company for loss of employment due to persistent  strike action. True enough, although I have to agree that passenger safety would indeed be compromised if the train has no supervision it should NOT be the responsibility of the driver to ensure passenger safety. personally I think its time for a compromise..Surely IF the train has three carriages or less and operating local services where there is a ticketing facility available at each station then why not? On the other hand where the booked PVR is of 6,8,or 12 carriages and the curvature of the platform means that the driver has limited visibility and often having to rely on the despatcher(s) then Southern should get their brain in gear. Presumably the present 12 car formations in use with Thamelink on the Brighton-Bedford route have a second man?  >:(   

It is not so much the length of the trains. The ones Southern want to introduce DOO on have CCTV in the cab, but some of the images I have seen depending on different light conditions it is worse than useless

[mikestone]

The entire farago *is* due to government intervention. A senior civil servant was quoted as saying they intend to smash the rail unions.
There is no way GoVia wouldn't have settled by now had it not been made very clear to them that they would be stripped of the franchise, and could kiss goodbye to any future involvement, if they did.
;
The question is will they keep the LM franchise as a reward,  or lose it so that the DfT can be seen as punishing them.

[the trainbasher]

Easy way to solve the problem, get rid of (I.e. promote) the civil servants who had the stupid idea of DOO for Southern and then get rid of that clause.

That'll stop the strikes!

[T840MAK]

It is not so much the length of the trains. The ones Southern want to introduce DOO on have CCTV in the cab, but some of the images I have seen depending on different light conditions it is worse than useless

The cameras in the cab also aren't live, they're stills that are a couple of seconds old that refresh every couple of seconds.

[Gareth]

Maybe it's too blindingly obvious, but if the problem is cctv, isn't the solution staring everybody in the face? It may cost a bit, but new cctv systems could be installed?

[Isle of Stroma]

Maybe it's too blindingly obvious, but if the problem is cctv, isn't the solution staring everybody in the face? It may cost a bit, but new cctv systems could be installed?

Maybe it's too blindingly obvious, retain the guard, do the job properly, & stop being a **** by voting tory....

[Stuharris 6360]

Issued earlier today:

"Please find below our statement issued to confirm that we are entering into talks with train drivers union ASLEF to seek an end to their industrial action on Southern. The talks will be chaired jointly by TUC General Secretary Frances OGrady and rail industry HR expert Andy Meadows.

ASLEF has agreed to suspend next weeks industrial action including the ban on overtime working.  We will now work hard to restore services as soon as possible.
At the time of writing we still expect the RMT industrial action next Monday (23) to continue.

Charles Horton, chief executive of GTR, said:
We've always made clear our willingness to engage in meaningful talks with ASLEF to find a route forward to end their dispute.
"So, together with our passengers and businesses, we warmly welcome their decision to suspend next week's planned industrial action.  This is an important and significant development for the travelling public and the regional economy and our focus and efforts now will be on productive talks with the union and trying to find a solution and a way forward.   We are grateful to Frances O'Grady and Andy Meadows for agreeing to chair jointly this important new round of talks and they have our unequivocal endorsement and support".

In line with the agreement between the parties, GTR will make no further statement or comment until these talks have concluded."