‘Sick-note strike’: Southern rail conductors call in ill 1,000 times in a month

Southern services were hit by staff sickeness
Phil Richards

Train conductors in dispute with their bosses on Southern railways have called in sick more than 1,000 times in a month, it can be revealed.

This has caused an average of 83 trains a day to be cancelled, with passengers facing long delays or having to change trains mid-route.

About 120,000 commuters rely on Southern at peak hours to get to and from the capital each weekday.

Southern took the unusual step of releasing the figures today as industry sources dubbed the dramatic rise in absence an illegal “sick-note strike”.

There were 1,066 days of conductor absence in the last 32 days. Further problems have been caused by drivers taking sick leave.

The RMT union called members out on strike last month and last week in protest at management plans to re-designate the conductors as “on-board supervisors”. This would mean the driver would open and close the doors and trains could be operated by only one member of staff. Further strikes are threatened.

A spokesman for Southern said: “We would not usually release such information, but passengers deserve to know the reasons behind the unusually high level of train cancellations they are presently experiencing. For those conductors who are ill the company is offering all the support we are able to and working out how they can get back to work. But these figures show a remarkable and unprecedented level of sickness absence which commenced at the time of the first strike.”

The figures sparked an immediate backlash from the RMT, which accused the company of a “disgraceful campaign of misinformation”.

RMT leader Mick Cash said: “The hard fact is that this company does not have enough staff to fill the rosters and is carrying significant levels of vacancies. ”

Southern runs 2,284 services each weekday, totalling in excess of 600,000 passenger journeys. On the worst day, more than 50 staff were off sick, causing 158 trains to be cancelled. Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the London Assembly transport committee, said: “Not only are the conductors creating misery for commuters but they are putting at risk a basic condition of employment rights. If the RMT are really concerned about protecting employment rights they should immediately inform their members to end this unprecedented level of staff sickness.”

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