Southern conductors offered £2,000 to end rail strikes

The operator of the Southern rail network has offered conductors a lump sum of £2,000 in a bid to bring industrial action to an end.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has set the RMT union a deadline of midday on Thursday to agree to end strikes.

It said conductors would also be asked to sign up to new on-board roles as part of an eight-point offer.

The RMT said: "Jobs, safety and access on Southern rail services are not for sale for £2,000."

Months of industrial action by the RMT and high levels of staff sickness have hit Southern services.

Southern rail tweet angers passengers

Last month, the RMT said workers would stage 14 days of strike action in the long-running dispute over the role of conductors on trains.

'Meaningful talks'

GTR said it has set out "a fair, clear and unambiguous" plan of action to the RMT to settle the 10-month dispute.

In a letter to Mick Cash, the RMT's general secretary, it issued Thursday's deadline to agree to the deal and call off all planned strikes, with conductors then being balloted on the full offer.

The company said if the terms were not agreed by Thursday, guards would be served notice letters terminating their existing contracts and inviting them to sign up to the new on-board supervisor roles.

Mr Cash said Southern were "only prepared to talk about their position and not that of the front-line workforce who are at the heart of this safety dispute".

"They won't even release our reps to take part in genuine talks," he said.

"RMT members will not be bullied, bribed or beaten regardless of the tactics deployed by Southern.

"We stand firm and our offer of genuine and meaningful talks, where both sides set out their positions, stands."

Conductors have been told their contracts will be terminated if the offer is not accepted by Thursday lunchtime

Charles Horton, the chief executive of GTR, said: "Everyone is sick and tired of this pointless and unnecessary dispute and we now need to bring a swift end to these strikes, which have caused months of misery for hundreds of thousands of workers, children going to school, family days out and retired people."

He added: "We are going the extra mile and offering our conductors a lump sum cash payment to be paid just after Christmas, when they are getting on with their new roles.

"The RMT needs to understand that this change is happening and we would prefer to work with them to ensure that it's achieved in a way that best protects the interests of our customers, our employees and the business."

"£2,000 bounty"

The RMT responded: "This dispute has never been about money, it is about guaranteeing there is a second, safety-critical, member of staff on board the current Southern rail services.

"There is a ready-made solution to this dispute and that is based on the Scotrail deal that guarantees that second member of staff on all services.

"Despite the Southern spin, this dispute is not solely about the doors, it is about giving passengers that safety guarantee that goes with the second member of staff on the train.

"If that guarantee is good enough for Scotland, it should be good enough for Southern."

A union spokesman said the RMT would respond "positively" to calls for talks, but would not be "caving in to ultimatums that put a £2,000 bounty on our members heads".

Southern's eight-point offer

• Southern will guarantee that every train currently operated with a conductor will continue to have either a traditional conductor or a second member of on-board employees rostered

• Southern guarantees that traditional conductors will retain current competence and the second member of on-board employees will be trained to a 'safety competent' level.

• Southern will propose a list of exceptional circumstances, to be agreed with the RMT, when a train can continue in service without a second member of on-board employees, for the benefit of customers.

• These proposals, including the above guarantees, are dependent upon agreement that services with a second member of on board employees (rather than a traditional conductor) will have the driver in full control of train dispatch.

• Collective bargaining rights for the new OBS role will be agreed with the RMT.

• A joint review of the on-board supervisor (OBS) role after 12 months of operation.

• A guaranteed minimum level of voluntary overtime for all OBSs, agreed with the RMT.

• A guarantee to retain the OBS role at the levels already guaranteed, beyond 2021, should GTR retain the franchise.