A strike of station staff employed by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) that was scheduled for Wednesday 7th September has been called off.
The strike would have been the first in a campaign of industrial action mounted by the RMT union in opposition to the rail operator's plans to close ticket offices at a large number of stations (the union says 84) and introduce "station hosts", who would be based on station concourses.
The RMT has suspended the campaign following discussions at the ACAS arbitration service. According to the union, agreement has been reached with the company as follows:
- The new arrangements will be trialled at eight locations with the pilots closely monitored by the unions
- Ticket offices will remain open and staffed during the trial period
- There will be no extension beyond the trial period without union agreement through a Joint Working Party
- The trials will prevent a situation arising where lone workers are left carrying cash
- There is an absolute guarantee that no jobs will be lost and there will be no changes to terms and conditions. Staff volunteering for the trials will be paid an additional £1000.
The talks at ACAS also involved a second rail union, the TSSA.