SOUTH Western Railway (SWR)has announced that further strike action will be affecting the service for next week (Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 13).

Rail union RMT has confirmed that strike action will take place on after guard members voted for industrial action for a sixth time.

READ MORE: Mum pays tribute to 'caring' son who died in Topshop

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Our members have been left with no choice but to call a further two days of strike action on South Western Railway.

"They have shown an incredible amount of solidarity and voted for industrial action for an historic sixth time in one of the union's longest running disputes.

"We are appalled by management's bullying and harassment tactics in their attempt to get our members return to work.

"The company's constant barrage of lengthy letters every time our Guard members take legal and legitimate industrial action is intimidating, degrading, humiliating and offensive.

"RMT will not tolerate our members being bullied or intimidated by any company at any time whether we are in dispute or not.

"I want to congratulate our members on their continued resolve in their fight for safety and the role of the guard on SWR.

"It is wholly down to the management side that the core issue of the safety critical competencies and the role of the guard has not been agreed."

READ MORE: Latest traffic news across Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham and Ascot

SWR will be running an amended strike timetable on the following dates:

• Monday, March 9

• Tuesday, March 10

• Thursday, March 12

• Friday, March 13

Strike timetables are available on the website.

A statement by SWR said: "We are disappointed that the RMT has chosen to announce further strike dates, particularly as we already have further talks planned. "While we have compromised on a number of points since this dispute started, SWR is the only suburban network within London with guards still operating the doors.

"We have guaranteed to keep a guard on every train, but it is vital that we use the most efficient means of dispatch when we introduce our new trains so that we can deliver the improved performance our customers so desperately need."