Southern Rail strikes cause more misery for commuters – as MPs consider BANNING future walkouts
THOUSANDS of stressed-out commuters endured rush-hour misery as the second day of the Southern Rail strike takes hold.
The train operator's services have been brought to a standstill as MPs consider a complete ban on rail strikes altogether.
Roughly 300,000 passengers, the population of Iceland, were affected by the strikes again this morning.
Stations which are usually packed have been eerily silent as people across parts of Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, and Kent have taken alternative routes to work.
Talks are being held between Southern and Aslef today through the conciliation service Acas.
The discussion will take place in the hope a resolution can be found to the dispute which shut down more than 2,200 services yesterday.
The RMT union leader Mick Cash has been barred from attending the talks.
Southern Rail representatives sent him packing because RMT represent just 12 drivers compared to the 1,000 who are members of Aslef.
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Mr Cash said: "Southern were full aware last night that I would be attending the talks this morning at ACAS alongside our ASLEF colleagues.
"This morning, on arrival for the talks, I was told that I would be allowed to take part by representatives from the company."
He added the RMT was "furious with the complete contempt" they have been shown by Southern.
Nick Brown, Chief Operating Officer of Govia Thameslink Railway, Southern's parent company, said: "We hope today's talks with the ASLEF leadership are productive.
"I have spoken with the General Secretary of the RMT this morning and informed him we'd be happy to meet him at ACAS later today to talk about any new proposals he has to try and end the conductors' dispute. And I also asked him to call off their programme of strikes planned for Christmas and new year."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants Transport for London to be responsible for commuter services and said his team his ready to tackle the issue this week.
He told BBC Breakfast that transport secretary Chris Grayling should put party politics aside by giving the Labour mayor responsibility for Southern.
Grayling has dismissed the idea as "nonsense" citing TfL's lack of experience in dealing with a mainline railway.
Roughly 1million passengers will be affected across the 72-hours of Southern Rail standstill, as Mr Grayling hints driver walkouts could soon be made illegal.
A ban on all-out strikes and the break-up of Southern are among reforms being considered by rail ministers, The Times has reported.
Senior Tories are also considering emergency legislation that would guarantee at least half of services keep running during union action.
Mr Grayling has confirmed that he is powerless to order train drivers back to work, but looking to the future he told the BBC: "There'll be a lot of things we'll have to take a careful look at."
Members of the Aslef and RMT unions are staging a walkout in a long-running dispute over driver-only trains and the changing role of conductors.
It has since been claimed that Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan supported the proposal on Thameslink routes in 2011.
Talks are due to be held between Southern, the RMT, and Aslef later through the conciliation service Acas.
The discussion will take place in the hope a resolution can be found to the dispute which shut down more than 2,200 services yesterday.
Nick Brown, Chief Operating Officer of Govia Thameslink Railway, Southern's parent company, said:
"We hope today's talks with the ASLEF leadership are productive.
"I have spoken with the General Secretary of the RMT this morning and informed him we'd be happy to meet him at ACAS later today to talk about any new proposals he has to try and end the conductors' dispute. And I also asked him to call off their programme of strikes planned for Christmas and new year."
Train drivers are in a dispute with Southern over the apparent expansion of driver-only trains that would see the role of conductors changed.
The proposals would see drivers push a button to open and close the doors rather than conductors.
Union members argue this is less safe and are concerned conductors will be removed from services altogether.
Southern has maintained there will be no job losses as a result of the alterations.
Simon Wells, Aslef's assistant general secretary, said: "This isn't just about safety it's about having a decent service.
"What they are looking to do is replace the existing guards with zero-hour contracts and agency staff.
"There is no guarantee there will be a second person on the train."
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, is alleged to have signed a document in 2011 confirming his union agreed to the introduction of 12 driver-only trains.
The plans related to Thameslink routes.
A limited Gatwick Express shuttle service to and from London Victoria is operating every 30 minutes amid the strike chaos.
The walkouts will be halted tomorrow but a 24-hour strike will take place on Friday.
Southern have warned people to still expect services to be severely disrupted tomorrow because Aslef members are refusing to work overtime.
The RMT union, which has been staging strikes since April in the dispute, is planning more stoppages to take place either side of Christmas.
RMT members will strike on Monday 19 and Tuesday December 20, before walking out against on Saturday December 31 and Monday January 2.
Aslef members are due to strike again between Monday January 9 and Saturday January 14.
Southern have warned people to expect services to be severely disrupted tomorrow becayse Aslef members are refusing to work overtime.
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