RMT condemns “insulting” ATOC report on franchise reform.

BRITAIN'S biggest rail union RMT today dismissed the Association of Train-Operating Companies report on franchise reform as an "insult" driven by greed.

Among its main recommendations the report called for franchises to be extended up to 20 years and for less Department for Transport and Network Rail involvement in overseeing and delivering improvements to services.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "This report is an insult to passengers who have been fleeced by fare hikes and cattle truck conditions. The real agenda here is to not a better railway but bigger profits.

"The train-operating companies have provided no evidence that longer franchises and less regulation will provide more investment and a better deal for passengers.

"The collapse of the East Coast Mainline franchise for a second time and the fact that only massive government subsidy are keeping other companies afloat shows that the franchising system is completely discredited.

"The train operating companies are completely out of touch with what passengers want. Our polling shows that 70 per cent of the public support not more privatisation but re-nationalisation of the railways.

"The government should bin this report and concentrate on creating a genuine People's Railway which puts passengers before profit," Bob Crow said.

GMB hotline for lawbreaking employment agencies in post dispute.

GMB SET UP PHONE HOTLINE FOR PUBLIC TO REPORT LAW BREAKING BY  EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES SUPPLYING LABOUR IN ROYAL MAIL DISPUTE

These agencies are liable for a fine of £5,000 per day per worker supplied and GMB is asking public to phone 0208 971 4217 with details     

        GMB has set up a phone hotline to enable members of the public to report the names of employment agencies supplying agency staff in the current Royal Mail post dispute.       

        Earlier this week there was correspondence between Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary, in which Paul Kenny said that there were strict laws to stop employment agencies supplying labour to Royal Mail to break a lawful trade dispute. Under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 any agency supplying labour is liable to a fine of £5,000 per day per worker supplied. See Notes to Editors below       

        Both Royal Mail and Lord Mandelson denied that agency staff are being used to replace workers on strike. GMB do not believe these denials and have set up a hotline for members of the public to report the names of agencies and the names of workers being supplied to replace workers on strike. The hotline number is 0208 971 4217.       

        Paul Kenny GMB General Secretary said "An employment business may not supply a temporary worker to a hirer to replace an individual taking part in an official strike or any other official industrial dispute. In addition an employment business must not introduce or supply a work-seeker to do the work of someone who has been transferred by the hirer to perform the duties of the person on strike or taking industrial action.       

        However in spite of this law there is widespread and well reported law breaking by employment agencies in the current post dispute. Lord Mandelson, Royal Mail and employment agencies will not be allowed to ignore the law.       

        GMB has set up a hotline and is asking the public to supply names of employment agencies supplying workers and the names of these workers. These agencies are liable for a fine of £5,000 per day per worker supplied. We are asking them to phone 0208 971 4217 with details.       

        Can you imagine the outcry there would be in the media and in Parliament if unions were engaged in lawbreaking on the scale we see by employment agencies in this dispute."

PPP and Mayor’s budget cuts threaten Tube upgrades, says RMT

THE COMBINATION of private-sector greed and £5 billion in transport cuts planned by London's mayor threaten to derail the Tube upgrades that are essential to the capital's economic future, the network's biggest union said today.

Responding to a London First study that underlines the importance of maintaining Tube investment, RMT warned that delays and overruns in upgrades and outright cancellation of some plans would be worsened by the savage cuts planned by Mayor Johnson.

Ending the disastrous part-privatisation of Tube infrastructure, reversing the planned cuts and cancelling "punitive" fares rises were essential if London was to have a metro system worthy of a world capital, the union's general secretary, Bob Crow, said today.

"London First is right to point out the folly of cutting back on investment in the Tube, but the rosy picture it paints of the benefits delivered so far are wide of the mark," Bob Crow said.

"Station improvements are already being delayed, step-free access plans have been scrapped, Jubilee Line work is behind schedule and passengers are being hit with massive fares hikes – and that's before the mayor starts lopping £5 billion off the budget.

"Unless urgent steps are taken to bring the work in-house and reverse these cuts, the only tangible benefits felt by anyone will be the huge sums of public money being drained out of the network by Tubelines' shareholders under the asset-stripping PPP," Bob Crow said.

Frank Dobson has tabled an Early Day Motion in support of Eurostar cleaners

FORMER LABOUR Cabinet Minister Frank Dobson has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons in support of RMT cleaners working on the Eurostar contract at St Pancras International and their fight for pay and workplace justice.

The Commons motion has been placed on the order paper on the eve of the first of four more 24 hour strikes by the Eurostar cleaners employed by the Carlisle Group which will start at 5.30am tomorrow morning (Friday 23^rd October). There will be a noisy protest in support of the Eursostar cleaners, which will include solidarity visits from striking postal workers, between 8am and 10am Friday morning (23^rd October) outside St Pancras International.

In the EDM, Frank Dobson, whose Holborn and St Pancras constituency includes the Eurostar terminal, says:

"That this House is appalled that workers employed by Carlisle Group on the Eurostar trains contract are on poverty wages which are less than the London Living Wage; is dismayed that these cleaners are denied sick pay and pensions and there are constant complaints of bullying and harassment of staff and victimisation of trade union representatives; is deeply concerned that the Eurostar cleaners have complained that there is a racial undertone to the haranguing of the mainly black and ethnic minority workforce [and] believes these employment abuses are more akin to the Victorian age……"

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

"The RMT Eurostar cleaners, alongside our brothers and sisters in the postal service, are a rock solid example of the determination of working people to fight back against attacks on their pay and working conditions and against the bullying culture that is rife in workplaces up and down the country.

"If Eurostar and the Carlisle Group thought that this group of low paid workers could be ground into the dirt then they have seriously misread the courage and determination of the RMT Eurostar cleaners."

Network Rail threatens to sack 13,000 maintenance workers

RAIL UNION RMT revealed today that Network Rail have threatened to sack their entire maintenance workforce of 13,000 and to re-employ a reduced number of workers on new terms and conditions in a bid to bulldoze through a multi-billion pound cuts package.

The threat to sack the workforce, who carry out the essential day to day maintenance of tracks, signals and overhead lines, was thrown at RMT representatives during re-organisation talks.

Network Rail have already said that they aim to get rid of 2,500 jobs, 1,800 permanent staff and 700 contractors, which amounts to nearly 20% of the maintenance workforce. RMT has been demanding that the company stick to a clear assurance that they have given to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis that there will be no compulsory redundancies.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, who has written to Network Rail Chief Executive Iain Coucher today demanding that the mass dismissal threat be withdrawn, said:

"It defies belief that the entire workforce of 13,000 staff out there on the tracks who keep our rail network safe are being threatened with the sack in one hit but that is exactly what Network Rail have said.

"RMT takes this threat deadly seriously. The rail maintenance workforce have got a gun pointed at their heads and this union will not negotiate in an atmosphere of threats and intimidation designed to bully our members into signing up to job losses and attacks on their terms and conditions.

"RMT is seeking a clear assurance that Network Rail will stick to the promises it has given Transport Secretary Lord Adonis on no compulsory redundancies, an assurance that has been relayed by the minister to the RMT group of MP's.

"If we cannot get those assurances then RMT will have no hesitation in considering a ballot for action to protect our members jobs and their livelihoods."

RMT pledges full support for CWU postal workers

SPECIALIST TRANSPORT union RMT today pledged its full support for the CWU postal workers in their fight for a secure future and decent pay and conditions and a delegation from the union, including General Secretary Bob Crow, will be joining the picket line at Mount Pleasant sorting office on Thursday (22nd October) at 4.30pm.

On Friday (23^rd October) RMT cleaners working on the Eurostar for the Carlisle Group at St Pancras International will be on strike and will be organising picket line exchanges with local postal workers.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

"It's crucial that the entire trade union movement rallies round the CWU and their postal members in what is a fight for the future of both their industry and the essential public service that they provide for the British people.

"The postal workers are in the forefront of a national fight to protect jobs, working conditions and pensions from cash-driven cuts and they will get the full support of RMT members in that battle as it is one that we know only too well in the transport and maritime industries.

"We can all see the vultures of the private sector sniffing around the Royal Mail, looking for any opportunity to kill off the universal service and turn the post into a money making racket that mirrors the experience on the railways.

"RMT stands shoulder to shoulder with the postal workers, their fight is our fight and the solidarity of the trade union movement will be key to securing their victory."

The People's Charter News #2 Tuesday, October 20, 2009

	Speakers include: Bob Crow (RMT) Matt Wrack (FBU) and Mark Serwotka (PCS) Shami Chakrabati Director of Liberty Billy Hayes (CWU, invited) Caroline Lucas Green Party MEP Dr A Sivanandan* Director of the Institute of Race Relations John McDonnell MP and others from among the 33 who signed the Charter Early Day Motion Chaired by John Hendy QC and Imran Khan, Lawrence family solicitor The Convention is our first national event and promises to be big. The Convention is open to all supporters and will focus on promoting the Charter in the run-up to the General Election. It's a great opportunity to meet up with other supporters, discuss the Charter and join the debate on how we can get a fairer society. Book your tickets now online. Upcoming Events Charter supporters will be leafleting the Stop the War march and demonstration on Saturday 24th October, assembling Hyde Park at 11am. This is an opportunity to support the cause and publicise the Convention. If you can help with leafleting etc, ring Suresh Grover on 07816301706. Support the FBU-Lobby of Parliament from 11am on Wednesday 21st, lobbying from 1pm. Rally at Westminster Central Hall at 11am with Charter stall. The Charter demands include keeping the Royal Mail as a public service, and the re-nationalisation of the telecommunications industry. Charter supporters are urged to support striking postal workers on picket lines on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd October. Charter supporters will also be attending and leafleting the CWU meeting about setting up support groups at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London (opposite the station) on Monday 26 October.

RMT announces four more days of strike action by Eurostar cleaners

RAIL UNION RMT today announced a series of four 24 hour strikes by cleaners employed by the Carlisle Group on their Eurostar contract at St Pancras International in their fight for jobs and pay justice after the company failed to make any meaningful effort to resolve the dispute during extensive talks at arbitration service ACAS.

Following a rock-solid 48 hour strike in September a rolling programme of strike action by the Eurostar cleaners was suspended to allow for the ACAS talks to take place on four core issues:

• The fight for the Eurostar Cleaners to be paid the London Living Wage
• Opposition to redundancies which would increase the workload on staff already stretched to breaking point.
• A culture of bullying and harassment of staff on the Eurostar cleaning contract including the introduction of Orwellian finger-printing machines
• The victimisation of RMT representative Mohammed Yellow.

The four new strike dates are:

· 05:30 hours on Friday 23^rd October 2009 and 05:29 hours on Saturday 24^th October 2009.

· 05:30 hours on Sunday 25^th October 2009 and 05:29 hours on Monday 26^th October 2009.

· 05:30 hours on Friday 6^th November 2009 and 05:29 hours on Saturday 7^th November 2009.

· 05:30 hours on Sunday 8^th November 2009 and 05:29 hours on Monday 9^th November 2009.

Between 8am and 10am on this Fridays picket (23^rd October) there will be a mass protest with drums, horns and whistles in carnival style at St Pancras International and the strikers will be organising a picket exchange with postal workers who are due to strike the same day.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary said:

"The Eurostar cleaners fight for pay and workplace justice has developed into an international campaign which has generated over 3000 emails in support from 75 countries all around the globe.

"The treatment of this multi-ethnic workforce on the prestige Eurostar rail service is nothing short of modern day slave labour and it's a matter of national shame that cleaners on one of the last remaining publicly owned sections of our transport system are being denied the London Living Wage.

"We will be joining forces and exchanging pickets with our brothers and sisters from the postal service on Friday to ram home the message that working people in this country are sick and tired of being bullied into taking a hit on their pay and conditions."

RMT News - Working Class Representation

REGISTER NOW for the RMT- convened Public Conference:

Crisis in Working Class Representation

Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London, WC1

Saturday 7^th November 2009 11am – 3pm

The working class is being asked to pay for a crisis created by capitalism with more attacks on jobs, pay and conditions, cuts to services and a new round of privatisation. 

This RMT convened conference will be non-binding and non-resolution based, to discuss with like-minded socialists and trade unionists how best we can defend and promote working class interests.

The conference will seek to analyse the current crisis in working class political representation and then discuss the options for fighting back.

Confirmed speakers

Susan Calder, Vice Chair Labour Representation Committee

Brian Caton, POA General Secretary

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary

John Foster NO2EU Yes to Democracy

Joe Higgins MEP

Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary

Dave Ward CWU Deputy General Secretary

Free crèche facilities will be provided but please book in advance using the above contact details.

It is open to all and registration must be made in advance. To register please email: info@rmt.org.uk, or write to RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London, NW1 1JD. 

Yours sincerely,

Bob Crow

General Secretary

Amey Company Council Agenda items for 21/10/2009

Company Council 1230-1600

1) Introductions and apologies

2 Business updates – 15 minutes per business

AmeyColas – Simon Bunn
Inter-Urban Rail – Rob Offord
Consulting – Sean Roberts
Logistics - Graham Cook

3) Company-Union working arrangements

- the scope and content of the collective bargaining agreement
- 3 tier meeting approach
- number of Reps – who attends which meeting

4) Safety council, local safety committees and safety representation

5) Christmas working

6) Terms and conditions review

7)Family friendly policies

8)Outstanding issues from 2009 pay talks

9)Review of AmeyColas working relationship with Unions through recent reorganisation

10) Agree dates for next Rail Councils for next 12 months – All

11) AOB

Anyone with comments on any of these, please post comments here.

RMT demands reinstatement of Glasgow Airport raillink as figures shown as bogus

RAIL UNION RMT today demanded the immediate reinstatement of the planned Glasgow Airport rail link as new information emerged exposing the financial grounds on which the proposed scrapping of the scheme was justified by the SNP administration in Edinburgh as totally bogus.

Amanda McMillan, the managing director of Glasgow Airport, waded into the row over the rail link this morning by writing to all MSP's saying that the £70 million additional expenditure figure used by the SNP as grounds for axing the plan "is not one we recognise."

Her rebuttal of the key financial information has reinforced similar claims by Steven Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council.

RMT today demanded an urgent meeting with Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson, warning that 1300 jobs are at risk from the proposed scrapping of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link which would deal a savage blow to the Scottish economy as it fights to pull out of recession. The absence of consultation with trade unions over the proposal flies in the face of an agreement signed off with the First Minister Alex Salmond two years ago.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"At a time when major infrastructure projects like the Glasgow Airport Rail Link are key to dragging the economy out of recession it is a disturbing that SNP politicians have used what appear to be bogus figures to justify axing the scheme.

"The Rail Link offers a sustainable, fast and efficient transport option to users of Glasgow Airport and would have a crucial role to play in the Commonwealth Games in 2014. That is why we cannot afford any further delays.

"It is not too late to pull this position around before more damage is done. Today we are calling for an urgent meeting with Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson with the objective of getting the Glasgow Airport Rail Link reinstated in the Scottish Parliament's budget."

RMT slams major North Sea engineering and construction company Subsea 7

OFFSHORE ENERGY union RMT today slammed the major subsea engineering and construction company Subsea 7 for engaging in a "race to the bottom" on pay and conditions through the hiring of cheap, overseas labour which has put jobs and conditions in the North Sea field under threat.

Subsea 7 delivered global pre tax profits of $425 million in 2008 with the bulk of the money - $235 million – being delivered from their North Sea operations.

Now the company are re-paying the hard work of their North Sea staff by threatening to dump them out of their jobs and hiring in cheap labour from overseas.

RMT have pledged an all-out fight to save jobs and to protect pay and conditions in the North Sea field and have warned Subsea 7 that they will mobilise a global trade union fightabck against the company. RMT are demanding immediate talks with Subsea 7 on the attack on jobs, pay and conditions.

In a letter to Subsea 7 management, RMT members say clearly: "If you think that we will idly sit back and allow you to remove our livelihoods without a fight you are very much mistaken."

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

"RMT members employed by Subsea 7 are clearly angry at what is tantamount to social dumping regarding the decision by the company to replace them with cheaper labour from other countries.

"We will not sit back while this highly-profitable, global company replace our members with cheap labour at the stroke of a pen. As well as causing anger and resentment within the Subsea 7 workforce these actions are setting alarm bells ringing right across the offshore industry.

"We will have no hesitation in mobilising a global trade union campaign exposing the activities of Subsea 7 and would urge the company to make immediate arrangements to meet with RMT representatives to discuss their intentions and the impact on their UK workforce."

The Peoples Charter

	New Website Launched! A new centre of information, communications and mobilisation for the People's Charter has been established. It is online and we ask you to visit without delay. Come to the new website and sign the Charter. If you already have, visit the site and recommend it to your friends, family, workmates and fellow activists. On the site you will find the Charter, information about the forthcoming conference, you can sign up for newsletters and link to People's Charter groups on Facebook and Twitter. You can even donate online. TUC Backs Charter The TUC's decision to support the People's Charter is a huge step forward in the fight to promote a realistic and winnable alternative to the all-party consensus- a consensus that would see unprecedented cuts in public services, coupled with attacks upon public sector workers' pay and pensions (see below for text of motion). Why should ordinary people suffer the double whammy of having to bail out the banks and other failed financial institutions that caused the financial crisis, and then pay again through savage cuts? Although there is a critical need to build support for the Charter in workplaces, we also need the support of the wider community including tenants' associations and community groups. The Charter needs your support and assistance. Visit thepeoplescharter.com to see how you can assist. National Charter Conference The first national meeting of Charter supporters will take place on Saturday 21st November at the Camden Centre in London. This will be the first opportunity for supporters from across the country to get together. It follows on from the party conferences and little more than 6 months before the General Election. The Convention is open to all Charter supporters, who are welcome to attend as individuals or as delegates from trade unions and community groups. You can registering now online at thepeoplescharter.com.

Keep Tyne and Wear Metro Public!

RAIL UNION RMT today called for plans to privatise the Tyne and Wear Metro to be scrapped after it emerged at the weekend that only one private company – the German-owned DB Regio – has been shortlisted to take over the service in April next year.

In an announcement pushed out late on Friday it was confirmed that DB Regio will now go into a head to head contest with the in-house team for the running of the Tyne and Wear Metro – Britain's most successful railway, providing services for 40 million people a year.

RMT officials are meeting with NEXUS – the public body currently running the Metro – today and have confirmed that they will step up the anti-privatisation fight alongside the high-profile Keep Metro Public campaign.

The issue will be huge in the North East in the run up to the next general election with the vast majority of people in the region opposed to the Tyne and Wear Metro privatisation.

Newcastle MP Jim Cousins has tabled a motion in the House of Commons saying that:

"the tendering process can play no useful purpose and that the best interests of passengers will be served by the Metro remaining as a unified railway in the public sector, where every penny of funds invested is spent on improving passenger services."

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

"We know that at least a million pounds has been wasted on the Tyne and Wear Metro privatisation drive so far – money that could have been invested back into the service.

"Now we are down to just one private bidder in a move from competitive tendering to what looks very much like monopoly tendering. This whole ill-conceived scheme should be scrapped now before more damage is done and even more money is wasted."

Ten Years since Paddington!

ON THE tenth anniversary of the Paddington rail crash, transport union RMT has called upon the government to mark the date by intervening to stop planned cuts in Network Rail maintenance which have put 2500 jobs, nearly 20% of the workforce, at risk.

On the 5^th October 1999 31 people died and dozens were injured just outside of Paddington when two trains collided after one passed a poorly sighted red signal. The tragedy, along with disasters at Hatfield and Potters Bar, was a key factor in the breakup of Railtrack and the handing of rail infrastructure to the not-for-dividend Network Rail.

But now Network Rail, under heavy financial pressure, is looking at major cutbacks. 28% of the rail renewal programme has already been deferred and now serious maintenance staffing reductions, including on track, signalling and overhead lines, are being discussed with RMT union representatives.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today:

"Ten years after Paddington our thoughts are once again with the friends and relatives of those who died on that morning and with those who still suffer today from the injuries they suffered in the tragedy.

"We all welcomed the demise of Railtrack but we now see the successor, Network Rail, facing massive pressure to cut budgets and it's track renewals and maintenance work that are taking a real hit.

"RMT has repeatedly demanded that the risk assessments associated with these cuts be published and put in the public domain and we have warned Network Rail that the dash for savings increases the risk of another Paddington, Hatfield or Potters Bar. Those warnings have come directly from our members whose job it is to keep the tracks, signals and overhead lines safe and they cannot be ignored.

"RMT would urge the government mark the tenth anniversary of the crash at Paddington by intervening to reverse the Network Rail maintenance and renewals cuts and deferrals programme."

Reballoting at Virgin

RAIL UNION RMT will begin re-balloting on-train catering staff on Virgin Trains tomorrow (Friday 2nd October) for strike action and action short of strike action over the imposition of new working arrangements that disrupt existing rosters and increase the average working day.

RMT have already won a ballot for action with a massive majority but following an intervention by company lawyers, using the anti-trade union laws, the union have been forced to re-ballot. The ballot will close on October 22^nd.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

"It is a disgrace that rather than getting round the table to settle this dispute Virgin Trains have chosen instead to throw the whole weight of the anti-trade union laws at their on-train catering staff to try and bulldoze through changes that would have a massive impact on their work/life balance.

"Not only do these proposals increase the average working day but they also disrupt the current flexibility of rostering, creating major problems with care and holiday arrangements. To make matters worse they are attempting to impose their plans without prior agreement.

"Virgin Trains staff have already delivered a 32% increase in productivity and instead of thanking them the company are hitting the catering workforce with these unacceptable attacks on working conditions.

"Our members voted massively for action last time around. The intervention of the lawyers and the use of the anti-union laws has only increased the anger and I am sure they will register a resounding YES vote again that will force the company back to the negotiating table."

Renationalise the East Coast Mainline

RAIL UNION RMT today welcomed an announcement by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis that the East Coast Main Line franchise, currently run by National Express, will be renationalised this autumn for longer than originally expected but have called on the government to set a firm timetable for bringing the prestige route under public ownership on a permanent basis.

The impending collapse of National Express on the East Coast was first confirmed at the end of June and since then the company have been at the centre of intense takeover speculation. The government have also failed to confirm that the cross-default clauses will be applied, stripping National Express of their profitable East Anglia and C2C franchises.

An opinion poll commissioned by RMT earlier this month showed that 70% of the British people back public ownership of the East Coast Main Line.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

"The uncertainty and speculation over the future of the East Coast Mainline creates an atmosphere of instability for both and staff and passengers alike.

"While we welcome the statement from Lord Adonis that he will look beyond short-term, crisis measures for the line he should now set out a planned and secured future for the East Coast route by setting a firm timetable for public ownership on a long term basis. He should also take the opportunity to confirm that National Express's East Anglia and C2C routes will be renationalised under the cross-default rules.

"National Express is the second privatisation failure on the East Coast Mainline in just three years, following on from the collapse of GNER. It makes no sense to go to all of the expense of setting up a publicly owned service only to follow the same, failed, privatisation route a couple of years down the line. That's a waste of time and money and flies in the face of common sense and public opinion."

Maintenance hotline

RAIL UNION RMT today launched a confidential email hotline for members amid growing concerns over planned maintenance cuts by Network Rail which have put over 2500 – nearly 20% of the total workforce – at risk.

Briefings for RMT safety reps have confirmed that the cuts will be spread across the whole Network Rail maintenance operation including track, signalling and overhead lines.

As part of a campaign strategy for opposing the plans, RMT is compiling a dossier of where the proposed cuts are hitting maintenance works along with an assessment of the safety risks.

Today, all RMT Network Rail maintenance members have been sent by text and email details of a confidential email address where they can feed through local details of the impact of the cuts the length and breadth of the UK.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"RMT has warned repeatedly of the serious impact that the cuts being considered by Network Rail will have on both safety and reliability. The company briefings to our safety reps have confirmed those fears and that's why we have launched this hotline to begin the process of assembling a dossier exposing the hard facts.

"While the politicians are talking about future cuts they are already a reality on railway lines up and down the country and we are determined to ensure that both staff and the travelling public know exactly what impact they will have.

"With the billions spent bailing out the banks it is disgraceful that essential maintenance services on the railways are under massive pressure to cut corners, increasing the risk of another tragedy on the tracks."