DLR strike: London commuters face fresh walkouts in 2016 from RMT Union

London commuters face another batch of Docklands Light Railway (DLR) strikes in 2016 as RMT members plan to walkout across January, February and March. The industrial action is part of a row between the union and operator Keolis/Amey over a range of issues.

The strike will come after a 48-hour-long walkout on the DLR in November which left thousands of people having to take alternative modes of transport to work in the capital. Mick Cash, the general secretary of the RMT, claimed Keolis/Amey were trying to "bulldoze through" alleged bad work practices and conditions.

"We will not sit back and allow this aggressive and bullying culture to develop on this key part of London's transport network," Cash said.

"The company should not have underestimated the anger of the workforce and Keolis/Amey's continued failure to address our issues has forced this action on us. The union will continue with the talks process but to make any progress we need some solid indications that the company are actually listening and taking the grievances at the heart of the dispute seriously."

Kevin Thomas, managing director of Keolis/Amey Docklands, said: "We have held a number of meetings with RMT representatives in recent weeks, where considerable progress has been made.

"These meetings are currently ongoing and it is extremely frustrating that RMT have decided to announce further dates for strike action rather than proceeding to seek resolution to the issues. Such action will cause unnecessary disruption for our passengers, which I believe is avoidable.

"As always, we continue to seek meaningful and reasonable discussion with the union, with a view to achieving resolution and preventing disruption for our passengers."

Rory O'Neill, the director of the DLR, urged the parties to resolve the dispute. "This is a matter between the RMT union and the DLR operator, Keolis/Amey Docklands," he said. "Threatening strike action is unnecessary, and I would urge both parties to get round the table to discuss and resolve this dispute for the sake of our customers."