South Western Railway workers to be balloted over strike action

The dispute over guards on trains, which has wreaked havoc on Southern and will result in more strikes in the coming days, is threatening to spread to another rail franchise, South Western Railway.The RMT union said it was in formal dispute and was preparing to ballot members for a strike over what it called the failure of the new franchise owner, First MTR, to give “clear, cast-iron assurances” over the future of guards on South Western trains.