As the ConDem Government marks its first 100 days in office this week transport union RMT warned that jobs, quality and safety have been lined up for an all-out assault this autumn with the travelling public expected to take a massive hit on fares to use battered and under-resourced services.

RMT is pointing to:

• Rail and tube fares jacked up to the hilt to protect the profits of private companies and to finance the mess left behind following the failed PPP experiment on London Underground.
• Rolling stock replacements, upgrades and renewals work all scrapped or delayed leaving passengers to pay through the nose to travel in overcrowded carriages on under-maintained track.
• Thousands of transport jobs under threat on rail, the buses, the tube, the ports and at sea compromising safe working standards and condemning key workers to the threat of the dole.
• Privatisation threats to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, key UK ports, the Channel Tunnel Rail link and Network Rail as the Government seek to sell off the remaining pieces of the UK’s family silver.
• Bus services and pensioners free travel schemes lined up for massive reductions as subsidies are squeezed.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“One hundred days in to the ConDem Government we know that transport is being lined up for further, massive cuts this autumn that threaten jobs, infra-structure projects, safety and the quality of service to the travelling public. It will take co-ordinated trade union and community action on a scale unseen since the Poll Tax resistance to stop the ConDem’s cuts juggernaut.

“With the Potters Bar inquest still fresh in our minds, and with the narrowly-avoided runaway train disaster on London Underground on Friday, RMT will continue to fight for jobs, safety and investment in services and against a fresh round of privatisation using every tool at our disposal.

“With fares expected to be jacked up through the roof come January there is no doubt that this Government is hell bent on ring-fencing the profits of the private operators while forcing passengers to pay through the nose to travel on over-crowded, under-resourced and unsafe services.”