New hope, another let down and dates for your diary

This petition was started three months ago, in support of the guards on Southern trains. It reached its initial target of 1500 signatures in a matter of days, and the letter was sent to CEO Charles Horton's office but as the problems continued, drawn out by the government's response of allowing the company to cancel more trains and continue to mistreat its staff. The emphasis of our fight-back moved from trying to persuade Southern to run the service decently, and attention moved to getting rid of the company, preferably claiming the line back into public ownership. This government is not interested in that idea. Last week though, we thought an answer was in sight. Up in Scotland, the union, RMT are on the verge of an agreement with Scotrail, which will allow trains to run with safety-responsible guards on board. They approached GTR, who run Southern, to see if the same could be done here. No, GTR are still determined to run driver-only trains on our poorly staffed, ill-prepared lines. So now we face another week of strikes and strife. This will not end until enough people stand up and say "we want our railways run properly. We are paying for quality service - where is it?" Here are some ideas as to how we might help. Please take a look at the updated article which explains the background to the dispute (and please take that link and share it around) and, if you can join in any of the actions listed, please do. Updated article: http://www.afairersociety.uk/2016/06/17/southern-apologises-for-their-lack-of-inclination-to-run-trains/ Actions: The strike runs from 8th to 12th August. If you are near any Southern-managed stations, please pop along and offer your support to the striking staff. They will get a fair amount of flack from people who are fed up at cancellations. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way. The Association of British Commuters will be marching on the DfT on 10th August (assuming they can get to London). Join them if you can. Info on the blue panel. and There’s an Action for Rail day on the 16th August. Protest groups will gather at many stations across the country. Please go along, pick up a card to send your views to the government.