The RMT union has announced that they are preparing to ballot members for industrial action, ‘up to and including strike action’ on Gatwick Express in ‘response to a threat to jobs’.
The ‘threat’ comes from ‘increased automation at the gate line at Victoria and Gatwick’, the union said today.
Throughout ‘intense discussions with Southern, the RMT Negotiating Team have made it clear to management that the union is totally opposed to the company’s gate line proposals and has major concerns on the effects it will have on their members’ livelihoods’.
The RMT believes that Southern’s proposals to gate either side of the Gatwick Express service at Gatwick Airport and Victoria Stations will have a ‘detrimental impact on the service the company provide and are a potential threat to the on-board staff jobs’.
As a result of ‘management’s failure to withdraw the Gateline proposals in its entirety, a dispute situation now exists between our two organisations’.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:
“Yet again this trade union is forced to ballot our members for action because a train operating company is threatening jobs in order to fatten up profits.
“Go-Ahead – which co-owns the Southern franchise – recorded an increase in rail profits of nearly 30% earlier this month raking off £48 million from the railways.
“They will also be looking forward to a whacking great increase in fares in January while slashing customer service by threatening to dump on-train staff through these automation proposals.
“With this week’s shocking rise in the unemployment figures, of course we will be doing all that we can within our power to defend our members jobs on Gatwick Express.”
