22 June 2020
RMT Press Office:
RAIL UNION RMT today called on the government to scrap their railway volunteer Journey Makers stunt after it emerged that Ministers tried to get rail companies to dress staff in the volunteer purple tabards for PR purposes as the whole ill-conceived exercise collapsed into chaos with unions, employers and the public themselves all seeing it for the nonsense that it is.
RMT Assistant General Secretary Mick Lynch said;
"RMT warned from the off that this half-baked Government PR stunt was a waste of time and a diversion from the challenges we really face on the railway as lockdown is eased and we have been proved right. It should be scrapped now before more time and energy is wasted.
"It is crystal clear that the employers, the staff and the public themselves have seen the "Journey Makers" scheme for what it is - a piece of PR puffery cooked up in the Downing Street bunker by Boris Johnson's advisers. The idea of unleashing thousands of volunteers onto the railway in their purple vests when safety, security, experience and team working are paramount was always barmy.
"RMT is demanding that the volunteer scheme be scrapped and that we concentrate our efforts across the industry on delivering the staffing numbers required to safely manage the incredibly complex new environment we are operating in."
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