As speculation grows that Crossrail could be mothballed RMT demands Government stop using TFL and its workers as a political foo
Responding to reports that the Capital's Crossrail line could be mothballed without immediate funding transport union RMT today called on the Government to stop using TFL as a political football.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
We note the report from the Lead Officer along with correspondence from LU Engineering Branch regarding the Work Train Controller members on the VGC Crossrail Project whose rate of pay is approximately half that of other grades.
Despite this matter being raised as a collective grievance, the rate of pay has not been corrected and the Lead Officer has requested a dispute situation and ballot for industrial action over this matter.
RAIL UNION RMT today challenged London Mayor Boris Johnson to come out and publicly support a union-led campaign for the Crossrail fleet to be built in Britain or risk the kind of delays that have dogged plans to build the Thameslink trains in Germany, a scandal which has dragged back the national fleet replacement programme by three years.
Last week, TFL and the DFT confirmed that the Crossrail fleet will be wholly procured by the cheaper and more efficient route of public financing, an open recognition that the public/private finance model is unable to deliver on time and on price.
TRANSPORT UNION RMT today issued a call for decisive political action on Crossrail Two (the project to link North East with South West London) and the extension of the Bakerloo Line beyond Elephant and Castle and into South East London.
The RMT call is timed to coincide with the business lobby setting out their demands for the projects with the union urging that the new routes are designed for the benefits of all Londoners not just the banking and commercial sector.
RAIL UNION RMT warned today that a looming shortage of skilled staff, driven by a failure to invest in training and apprenticeships and the dash to sub out key work to agencies and contractors, will threaten the timetables for future rail projects including the High Speed proposals unveiled this week.
The RMT warning is backed by research by the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering for the Office of Rail Regulation that was published just a few days ago.
Rail union RMT today challenged the Government to come clean over the real reasons for a three year delay in crucial rail fleet replacement programmes, delays that are both unnecessary and which continue to threaten the future of the UK train building industry.