Planned Industrial Action

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

That's the thing really. The dispute is not really with SWR its with DfT who are just hiding behind SWR.  Unless DfT back down SWR just have to live with it. That's why SWR insisted on a clause in the contract that means DfT must compensate SR for their losses due to the strikes and also why DfT agreed to that clause. 

Which makes you wonder what the RMT hope to achieve as they aren’t fighting First/MTR but a Tory government who don’t give in to strikes.

It’s not worked on Southern, it’s not working at Northern either. The government just have to sit it out until the RMT run out of steam (or money) if you’ll excuse the pun.

I will be interested to see how SWR handle a five day strike mind. Will stretch their resources to the limit I suspect. Coping with one or two day strikes is one thing; five could be a very different challenge.

[Lee]

Clearly aimed at causing maximum disruption during the Autumn internationals at Twickenham. I suspect SWR were expecting it so have plenty of times to make contingency arrangements. The RMT continuing the tactic of striking to disrupt the leisure market picking half term week for their 5 dayer.

I'd be genuinely interested in the contingency arrangements that are capable of shifting (the bulk of) 82,000 people to & from Twickenham.

"This train is formed of 1242 coaches"

[TaplowGreen]

RMT Leadership at the bottom of a ruck lying over the ball.......what a lovely thought! (for those of us who played when rucking was allowed of course!) 🙂👣🏉

[bignosemac]

Is rucking no longer permitted in Union?

[Charlie (in Gloucester)]

Clearly aimed at causing maximum disruption during the Autumn internationals at Twickenham. I suspect SWR were expecting it so have plenty of times to make contingency arrangements. The RMT continuing the tactic of striking to disrupt the leisure market picking half term week for their 5 dayer.

I'd be genuinely interested in the contingency arrangements that are capable of shifting (the bulk of) 82,000 people to & from Twickenham.

"This train is formed of 1242 coaches"

Passengers for Twickenham should request to the conductor on the train to alight here.

[TaplowGreen]

Is rucking no longer permitted in Union?

I remember rucking as the removal of prone players on the wrong side of the ball by the backward use of the foot; not stamping and not contact with the knee and ankle joints......then again I also remember scrums when the scrum half had to put the ball in straight..........

[Surrey 455]

Further dates announced

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45804454

Staff on South Western Railway (SWR) are set to stage further walkouts in a long-running dispute over the role of guards on trains.

Rail union RMT said the next strike would run from 00:01 BST on 23 October until 23:59 on 27 October, followed by further walkouts on consecutive Saturdays until 24 November.

It said SWR had "stalled" the talks process and failed to provide an offer.

The rail company accused the union of "needlessly disrupting" customers.

Sigh. That will be more Saturdays where I hang around my local station for the replacement bus that doesn't show up or is half an hour late.

[grahame]

Transport Focus have published a paper "Saturday strikes – the passenger viewpoint" ... it concerns Northern, but I suspect similar passengers views might be found in SWR territory

https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/news-events-media/news/tuv-november-2018-saturday-strikes-the-passenger-viewpoint/

In summary, this panel research shows the disruption is eroding trust among the travelling public, coming on top of the damage caused by the disruption following the May timetable change.It remains unclear to passengers exactly what changes Northern may seek to make to staffing on trains or at stations and how these changes might affect their journeys in future. If trust is to be rebuilt, then Northern, Department for Transport and Transport for the North will need to communicate much more clearly, and transparently, about the plans for the franchise and urgently address passengers’ concerns about accessibility and personal safety.