Protest to be held outside Parliament to mark anniversary of Southern Rail dispute

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will stage the event on April 26 in the same week as fresh talks are due to be held in a bid to break the deadlock.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘Heroic RMT members working for Southern Rail have taken 31 days of industrial action against the threat to rail safety from driver-only operation (DOO).

‘Those RMT members have put their passengers and their local communities first and they are a credit to the entire trade union movement.

‘It is right that rail workers from across the UK should have a chance to come together with our Southern members to mark the first anniversary of the dispute.

‘DOO is a national threat and this protest provides the opportunity for members from across Britain to make their voices heard and for us to show the politicians and media that our fight for passenger safety will continue.’

A Southern spokesman said: ‘We look forward to meeting with the RMT next week to try and resolve their dispute.’