Avanti nationalisation should not leave outsourced workers behind, says RMT

Rail union RMT have demanded that Avanti West Coast outsourced staff be bought into direct employment after the government announced the train company will be brought under public ownership by next March.

The union has welcomed the commitment by the government to launch Great British Railways, which will nationalise the network and bring track and trains back together under public ownership.

However, thousands of cleaners, gate line, security staff, infrastructure maintenance, renewal and engineering workers, are being left behind due to being employed by private contractors.

This is despite the Labour government’s commitment to undertake ‘the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation’.

Avanti currently outsources its security to Amulet, owned by Churchill, its station cleaning to Carlisle, owned by Lord Ashcroft, while its trains are cleaned by private equity owned outsourcing giant OCS, which is currently in the process of buying its fellow conglomerate Mitie.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that outsourcing companies were raking in over £400 million each year in profits by pushing staff pay and conditions down as low as possible, creating poor morale and repeated disputes.

Today outsourced rail workers on the publicly owned Transpennine Trains are taking strike action over poor pay and conditions and will be protesting at Labour conference.

Thousands of outsourced workers are increasingly frustrated at suffering poorer wages, poorer pensions no sick pay and being treated as if they are a second-class workforce.

RMT will continue to use all means to maintain pressure on the government until all rail workers are bought in-house to provide a better public service. It makes sense to the workforce and the taxpayer.