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Publication Date: January 9 2009
As news emerged that the Govia-owned franchise intends to shed staff to protect profits and shareholder dividends, RMT warned that it would not accept compulsory redundancies among its members.
The union also urged the government to stop transport privateers sacrificing jobs and services to protect profits and massive shareholder dividends.
“Southeastern is part of a group that has been raking in record profits and these planned cuts are not only completely unjustified but underline that Govia is interested only in making money,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.
“The franchise has seen its passenger numbers grow by more than six percent and its passenger revenue grow by 13 per cent in the last year.
“Govia is two-thirds owned by the Go-Ahead group, which poured nearly £50 million in dividends into its shareholders pockets last year and which boasted of another year of record results.
“They have been happy to cream it at the expense of massive subsidy, overcrowding and inflation-busting fare increases, but at the first sign of a downturn they want to make the rail workers who actually provide the service pay with their jobs.
“That is a disgrace, and in the current economic crisis the government should be telling Southeastern that it is not on.
“We have seen billions of taxpayers’ pounds being pumped in to bail out the bankers and parasites who have got our economy into the mess it faces, and now it is time for the government to make it clear that public service must come ahead of private greed.
“Southeastern did perfectly well in the public sector for two years before Govia got its hands on it, and if the privateers can’t maintain jobs and services they need to hand back the keys.
“These are jobs that our members and the economy cannot afford to lose, and Southeastern should understand that RMT will resist compulsory redundancies with every means at its disposal,” Bob Crow said.
