RMT change tactics to increase commuter misery

GUARDS carrying out industrial action on the c2c rail route from south Essex to London have been condemned for a change in tactics designed to bring extra misery to passengers.

The RMT union, which has staged a series of four 24 hour-strikes in recent weeks and a three-day strike this week, have announced they are to switch to an overtime ban next week.

This will run from Tuesday 14 August to Saturday 18 August, bringing five days of disruption to services from Southend to Fenchurch Street.

The RMT is staging industrial action as part of a national campaign over the role of the guard and the Driver Only Operation (DOO) of trains.

All train operating companies gave assurances they would not extend DOO beyond what has already been agreed with the union. This was enough to get strikes called off all over the country, but the RMT has singled out c2c alone for disruptive strike action, despite having signed agreements for the implementation of DOO on the route as long ago as December 1999.

c2c management have repeatedly urged the union to take its case to Railway Safety, the relevant authority who can make any changes it sees fit on DOO nationally through the rail industry's rule book, and in the meantime to call off its strike action.

Route Director David Taylor said: "Despite this plea for common sense and for the victimisation of our customers to cease, the RMT has continued to single out c2c for unjustified industrial action. We have made it abundantly clear to them that we don't have the power to change the industry guidelines, we just follow the rules.

"This latest change of tactics by the RMT is purely designed to hit our customers with even more sustained inconvenience over five whole days next week. It will hit both weekday commuters and leisure travellers at the weekend.

"Public sympathy for the RMT's cause of scrapping DOO, which has operated safely and reliably on many routes for up to 20 years, has pretty much evaporated. It is clear to our customers that the RMT are just jumping on the safety bandwagon in the most cynical way for their own political ends in order to bolster their flagging union membership.

"We will, of course, continue to run as many services as we can under these trying circumstances, always with safety as a first priority, and we appreciate the patience and forbearance of our customers."

The current three-day strike on c2c ends at midday tomorrow (Wednesday 8 August) and as services begin to return to normal, c2c will be able to run 27 of its normal 44 trains during the evening peak.

A planning team at c2c is currently assessing the effects on services of next week's overtime ban and will produce a timetable for services from Tuesday to Saturday, which will be available to customers by the end of this week.