RAIL UNION RMT have confirmed further strike dates and action short of a strike in the dispute with First Great Western as the company continues to fail to meet the core issues impacting on staff and passengers from the introduction of the new fleet of Hitachi inter-city trains.

The action will include strikes on Sunday 23rd August and Saturday 29th August through to Monday 31st August. Maintenance staff will work to rule.

The action follows a rock solid 48-hour strike in July which led to widespread disruption to services.

The issues in dispute remain the same:

• Lack of assurances over TUPE and job protection on Engineering Grades;
• The proposed introduction of Driver Only Operation (DOO) with door operation procedures to transfer from the guard to driver. This is a clear dilution of the important role of the guard and the crucial role of safety critical platform staff for safe incoming and departure of trains at stations and is contrary to RMT policy.
• The proposed removal of buffet/restaurant car facilities remains in place with nothing other than an undertaking by FGW to endeavour to modify the design of AT300 rolling stock to accommodate a buffet.

The full press release can be found here RMT names new strike dates on First Great Western