MORE strike action is likely after union bosses walked out of ongoing talks with Merseyrail over guards positions on new driver-only trains.

The meeting between the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union was aimed at ending the guards dispute on a new fleet of driver-only trains that will replace Merseyrail’s current 40-year-old rolling stock.

Railguards went on strike for 24-hours on Saturday, April 8 – Grand National Weekend - for the second time in two months.

Merseyrail offered an invitation to the union for further talks on Monday 10.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “We held off from calling further strike action on Merseyrail to give these talks a chance, but our good faith has been thrown straight back in our faces and once more all they wanted to discuss was the terms of our surrender.”

“Our negotiating team put forward a compromise that would have allowed us to talk about guaranteeing a second safety-critical crew member aboard every train separate to the issue of train despatch and door control.

“We offered to accept recommendations on despatch and door control from a safety working group that would include the company, the unions, the manufacturers and the safety agencies, if Merseyrail accepted the principle of a second safety-critical crew-member on every train.”

Like most new trains ordered for intensive urban railways, they will operate without a traditional guard, but there will still be staff on-board, focusing on customer rather than operational duties.

Merseyrail believe that they have already made clear that all the current permanent guards will be guaranteed an alternative job within the business, with salary levels protected and that no guard will be forced to leave Merseyrail’s employment.

Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Merseyrail’s managing director said: “We met with our colleagues in the RMT today. We are pleased that we got around the table again and continued talking.

“We are committed to bringing an end to this dispute and to ensure that we introduce our new trains in a way that works for our passengers and staff.

“We know, for example, that our passengers value a visible on-board staffing presence when travelling late at night, despite our network being one of the safest in the country.

“In the talks which took place just over a week ago, we tabled a number of ideas to find a way forward to provide reassurances to our staff and passengers, including some proposals to deploy a member of staff on trains after 8pm.

“We are therefore disappointed that, despite putting these late night train staffing proposals on the table, the RMT have apparently not moved from their original position, and therefore we anticipate they will call further strike dates.

“We at Merseyrail are trying hard to create some middle ground so that the negotiation can move forward.

“It is clear that the RMT are unwilling to move from their entrenched position.

“We will now prepare for the next strike action in order to provide the best possible service for our customers, but will keep the door open for the RMT to re-join talks with us.”

RMT bosses also sought urgent talks with Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson hoping for intervention to break the cycle of strikes.

Regional organiser John Tilley, who led the RMT negotiating team, said: “It is difficult to understand why Merseyrail invited us to talks in the first place, as they have not budged even a fraction of an inch.”