Worthing business owner calls for RMT strike to end

But while business began to pick up after the pandemic, he was forced to cancel concerts and saw music fans are more hesitant to buy tickets, fearing that a train strike may be caused.

He told The Argus: “There are times when you just don’t know if people are going to buy tickets for the event because obviously they’re not sure if the trains are going to strike.

“It affects events and ticket sales in general because people don’t buy in the early stages.

“You just don’t know – it’s like a guessing game.”

Brandon Wright said he was forced to cancel events at the last minute due to the strike (Image: Brandon Wright)

The RMT announced further strikes in November over a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions.

Brandon said the latest notice of strike dates forced him to cancel at the last minute.

He said: “I booked something last week and now I’ve had to cancel because at the last minute I saw there were rail strikes planned and I didn’t want to stay in London.

“It just has to stop. I lost my job because of it.”

While he understands why RMTs are on strike, he said the consequences of repeated walkouts are causing significant damage to independent businesses and the economy.

RMT workers will go on strike for three days in early November (Image: Newsquest)

“I understand high energy prices and everyone is struggling at the moment, but on the other hand a lot of people rely on trains to get to events – especially in London,” he said.

“When we try to encourage people to come Brighton from other cities and towns to help our economy and businesses, it’s not good for anyone.”

After further strike action was announced last week, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that despite repeated talks, the Rail Delivery Group had been unable to make an offer.

“We remain open to meaningful negotiations, but we are steadfast in our industrial campaign to see a negotiated settlement of this dispute for all of our stakeholders,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Rail Delivery Group accused the RMT of “causing more unnecessary long-term damage to an industry we all want to see thriving”.

She said: “We are asking the RMT to recognize the very real financial challenge facing the railway and work with us to reach a fair deal that includes pay rises and includes the long overdue changes we need to make to improve services for our customers “.