MEMBERS of national rail union RMT have voted in favour of strike action which would impact Northern services.

RMT today confirmed that 83.6 per cent of guards and driver members voted for action after Northern – the trading name of Arriva Rail North – failed to give assurances on the future role of the guard on its services.

Members will walk out for a full day on Monday, March 13.

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: “RMT members have voted by a massive majority for both strike action and action short of a strike on Arriva Rail North in a dispute which is all about putting public safety before private profit.

“The company now has the best part of two weeks to sit down with us, address the core issues at the heart of this dispute and negotiate a settlement before the action commences.

“The union’s position on Driver Only Operation (DOO) is perfectly clear. We will not agree to any extensions of DOO and will fight to retain the safety critical role of the guard and to keep a guard on the train. The company have been made well aware of that.”

Mr Cash added that discussions had been ‘aggravating’ but remained open.

A spokesman for Northern said: “As our modernisation proposals are still in the early stages, it is a shame that RMT has announced strike action for Monday, March 13.

“Our aim is to reach a constructive resolution and we urge RMT to continue the talks we have already started.

“We want to protect jobs and pay, and during our recent discussions we offered to consult fully with our people, customers and key stakeholders.

“If strike action goes ahead, our customers can be reassured that we have plans in place to keep them moving. During any strike action, we plan to run a revised service and will shortly release further information.”