Rail strikes called off and solution in sight over Merseyrail guards’ dispute

A series of strikes by Merseyrail staff throughout November and December which would have brought chaos to Christmas shoppers has been called off.

Following negotiations between the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and Merseyrail management the action has been suspended to help both sides reach a final agreement on the issue of the role of guards on Merseyrail’s £460m fleet of new trains due to enter service next year.

Last Friday the RMT escalated action when it revealed that rail services would be disrupted every Saturday from November 2, to December 28.

The union also instructed its members not to work any overtime or rest days, from 00.01 hours on Sunday November 3, until further notice.

But this afternoon the RMT’s national executive committee gave its endorsement to Merseyrail’s latest proposal which it said is a key step to resolving the long running industrial dispute.

As part of this decision the RMT confirmed it has suspended the impending nine days of strikes on consecutive Saturdays due to commence on November 2, to allow its local representatives to meet with the Merseyrail management team to finalise the proposal so that it can be presented to guard members to seek their endorsement of the agreement.

Andy Heath, Merseyrail managing director, said: “I am pleased that after consideration the RMT’s national executive committee have endorsed the latest proposal in principal and at the same time have given our customers, shoppers and traders the benefit of the lead up to Christmas being strike-free by suspending the planned nine days of strikes.

“We will now progress with the next phase of discussions to finalise an agreement so that the RMT can consult with its guard members before proceeding towards implementation.”

“At no time in our many days of negotiations with the RMT did we ever lose sight of the fact that the new Merseyrail trains will be one of the best metro railway trains in the national rail network.

“These new trains deliver everything that our customers have asked for through the design of a modern interior, safety features that have responded to feedback from a variety of user panels and industry bodies across the UK and, of course, the sliding step and platform level boarding maximising the accessibility for all our customers.”

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Today’s announcement is welcome news and I’d like to express my sincere thanks to my team, who have worked so hard for so long in negotiations to achieve this breakthrough today.

“Since I inherited this dispute, I have been focused on reaching the best outcome for hard working Merseyrail staff and the people of the Liverpool City Region.

“That is why I have been committed to bringing all parties to the negotiating table and why I intervened to scrap proposals for driver-only operation and guarantee a guard, with a safety critical role, on board every new train.”

He added: “These latest proposals, that have come from RMT local negotiators and been approved for the first time by the RMT national executive committee, reflect that commitment by providing a role in dispatch and legally-binding job security beyond the end of the current franchise.

“We have been close to a deal before, but I am hopeful that today’s breakthrough means that we can now look forward to the arrival from 2020 of our new, state-of-the-art trains which will be publicly-owned by local people and are being built to meet their needs and the needs of our city region.”