RMT calls for end to outsourcing as London to Essex c2c comes into public ownership

London to Essex train company, c2c, came into public hands last Sunday- a move welcomed by the RMT who are in strong support of Labour’s plan to create Great British Railways and to unite track and train under a single publicly owned body.

C2C transitioned from being run by state-owned Italian company Trenitalia to the government’s Operator of Last Resort on Sunday. However, cleaners working for Bidvest Noonan on c2c trains and stations continue to work in privatised conditions that are inferior to their colleagues directly employed by the train company.

The RMT has called on the Government to make good on the promise made during the 2024 election campaign to undertake ‘the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation’.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “It is great to see c2c being taken into public ownership in an important step along the road to Great British Railways.

“However, the injustice of outsourcing must end so all railway workers can reap the benefits of public ownership and greedy private contractors can no longer extract obscene profits from the industry.

“Our members working for Bidvest Noonan deserve decent pay and the same terms and conditions as their colleagues and we will fight tooth and nail to achieve it.

“Labour is doing the right thing bringing track and train into public ownership but it must keep its promise to insource thousands of workers on the railway and in the wider economy too.”

Ahead of the company’s transition to public ownership, the RMT blasted c2c for leaving outsourced cleaning staff working in filthy and unsafe conditions ahead of the service’s return to public ownership this weekend. Outsourced cleaners were forced to wash soiled mops by hand and dry them in bin areas, raising serious hygiene concerns. RMT regional organiser Kathy Mazur said:

“This is what outsourcing looks like with no accountability, cutting corners and a total disregard for basic safety. Public ownership must mean decent and proper standards.

“That starts with bringing cleaners and all outsourced workers in-house and treating them with the respect they deserve.”