Emergency talks are to take place this morning to avert another strike on the Southern rail franchise.

The heads of Southern’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) will meet at Monument in central London at 10am today (Thursday, October 6).

The RMT currently has 14 days of strike action planned in five separate blocks, with the first three days of industrial action scheduled for next week.

Southern is currently planning a revised timetable to operate during the strike if industrial action goes ahead.

The union will today be putting forward a new set of proposals to address concerns that changing the role of train guards will threaten jobs and public safety.

A statement on Southern’s website confirms that all onboard staff “will be guaranteed a job until the end of the franchise, with no reduction in salary”, and that there would be “no compulsory redundancies, and no compulsory location moves”.

A Southern spokesperson said: “If these strikes go ahead they will have a significant effect on our services.

“We are working on plans for the services we will operate.”

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: "We welcome the fact that the company have responded to the call for further talks and we will meet them tomorrow with no pre conditions and no arbitrary deadlines.

“RMT will be tabling a fresh set of proposals that address the wide range of issues at the heart of the dispute with the aim of progressing towards a negotiated agreement."

Southern experienced a strong backlash earlier this week after a social media campaign urging commuters to tell the RMT what they thought of the strikes backfired.

The planned strike dates are as follows:

Tuesday, October 11 until Thursday, October 13;

Tuesday, October 18 until Thursday, October 20;

Thursday, November 3 until Saturday, November 5;

Thursday, November 22 until Wednesday, November 23; and

Tuesday, November 6 until Thursday, December 8.