Southern strike: Rail workers will 'suspend strikes' if bosses agree to talks

Chloe Chaplain10 August 2016

Southern Rail strikers have announced they will suspend industrial action if the company agrees to urgent talks without bringing demands to the table.

Members of the RMT union began strikes on Monday which are due to continue until Friday, causing disruption for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Trains have been cancelled and some stations have no services running at all, costing London's economy up to £100 million.

Now, RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “In an effort to break the deadlock and get the talks process moving RMT is prepared to suspend strike action set for Thursday and Friday if Southern agree to urgent talks without pre-conditions.”

Strike action: Rail workers protested outside the Department of Transport 
Alex Lentati

He said the company’s owners had set out a series of pre-conditions in a letter to the union.

"The company knows that prescriptive pre-conditions would not allow genuine talks to take place," he added.

No service: The strikes have caused travel misery for hundreds of thousands of commuters (Jonathan Brady/PA )
Jonathan Brady/PA

"The ball is now in their court."

Southern Rail said they will meet with union members "any time, any place, anywhere".

A spokesman said: "We have made the RMT a fair and comprehensive eight-point offer, and we'll meet them any time, any place, anywhere to talk about our offer on our network to settle this dispute.

"This strike has to stop and has to stop now."

The union has also staged a protest outside the Transport Department in London, accusing the Government of "sabotaging " attempts to reach a deal.

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