South Western Railway strike called off by unionÂ

A planned strike of South Western Railway staff has been suspended to allow for discussions with the union.Â
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Aug 2018, 17:50 GMT
Updated 31st Aug 2018, 17:29 GMT
Planned strike on South Western Railway has been called off. Picture: Victoria Jones/ PA WirePlanned strike on South Western Railway has been called off. Picture: Victoria Jones/ PA Wire
Planned strike on South Western Railway has been called off. Picture: Victoria Jones/ PA Wire

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) were due to carry out 24-hour industrial action on Saturday. 

But it has now been suspended for further talks around the issue of the guard guarantee - with the strikes being called in protest over trains without guards.

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The union decision comes after a flurry of correspondence over the past 24 hours between RMT and the train company. The rest of the scheduled industrial action remains on. 

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: '˜RMT has continued to work hard to reach a negotiated settlement in the South Western Railway guards' safety dispute 'Žand after a flurry of correspondence with the company this week our Executive has agreed to suspend this weekend's strike action to allow for further talks on the specific issue of the guard guarantee. 

'˜The rest of our planned action remains on and the union remains committed to negotiating a settlement with SWR in line with other recent agreements with train operators that protects safety, security and access to services.' 

Currently RMT are still planning to carry out strikes on August 18, August 31 and September 1. 

RMT members have already staged industrial action on July 26, July 28, July 31 and August 4.Â