(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
LONDON: Britain's RMT transport union said on Tuesday its members would go on strike on rail networks across the country on April 8, the day of this year's Grand National steeplechase, in the latest action in a dispute over who should open and close train doors.
The union said its workers on Merseyrail in northwest England, which runs rail links to the Aintree race course where the Grand National race is staged, would stage a 24-hour walkout after talks broke down with employers.
They will be joined by staff on Northern, which runs services to northern cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, and on Southern Rail, run by Govia Thameslink Railway - a joint venture owned by Go-Ahead and France's Keoli - which operates London commuter lines to the south coast.
"RMT recognises the severe impact that the action will have on Grand National Day but we are dealing with an employer that refuses to listen or engage with the union on the critical issue of safe rail operation," RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said in a statement.
The RMT said the companies' plans to move to Driver Only Operated (DOO) trains and take away the responsibility for the carriage doors from conductors risks passenger safety. The operators say the DOO system has been judged safe and point out it is used on other lines.
RMT conductors on Southern Rail have been staging strikes for almost a year, although many services have continued to operate during the stoppages. The dispute widened to the other networks earlier this month. (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)
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