12 January 2018
RMT Press Office:
Government caught red handed bunging Southern Rail £22 million of taxpayers money to keep rail safety dispute running.
General Secretary Mick Cash said;
"The Government has at last been forced to admit that they have bunged the basket-case Southern Rail over £20 million of taxpayers money to keep the dispute over safety running for nearly two years.
"This extreme case of corporate welfare has taken place because the ludicrous and rigged GTR contract, condemned by the National Audit Office this week, means the tax payer and not the company carry the revenue risk.
"It is no surprise that Southern Rail have made no effort to negotiate a solution to the guards' safety dispute when Chris Grayling is paying them out of the public purse to keep it running. It's an absolute disgrace. The company get paid whether they run trains or not.
"This is a grotesque exercise that combines huge sums in corporate welfare with a Government policy objective of throwing the guards off our trains. It stinks and shows just why Chris Grayling has no interest in meeting with the union to broker a solution."
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