6 May 2025
RMT Press Office:
Rail union RMT, today launched its campaign to end outsourcing on the railways, branding the practice as a vehicle for systemic racism, low pay, and poor service standards across the network.
A new RMT report, How Outsourcing Embeds Systemic Racism on the Railway, exposes how thousands of rail workers—predominantly from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities—are trapped in outsourced roles with no pensions, no training, and no pathway to progression.
Key findings reveal:
- 58% of outsourced cleaners and caterers are from Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) background, despite making up only 25% of directly employed train operator staff.
- In London and the South East, the racial divide is even sharper: up to 80% of outsourced cleaners are BME, compared with 40% of train and station staff.
- 82% of outsourced workers want to build a career in Great British Railways, yet 77% have never had a discussion about promotion, and 68% have had no meaningful training in the last three years.
- 83% are regularly performing unpaid duties like customer service and fault reporting, tasks expected of directly employed staff.
- 83% of outsourced rail workers believe that passengers would benefit more if their service was taken in-house and run directly by Great British Railways
The report also shows how private firms use outsourcing to create a two-tier workforce—stripping staff of sick pay, pension rights, and job security, all while extracting shareholder profit.
RMT is calling on the Labour government to fulfil its manifesto commitment to undertake the biggest wave of insourcing and end this exploitative practice once and for all.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Outsourcing is one of the most exploitative practices, enshrining dreadful employment conditions and low pay for workers.
"Black and ethnic minority workers bear the major brunt of this super exploitation and are effectively trapped in second-class employment, unable to progress in a train company or Network Rail.
“Outsourcing is inefficient and wastes public money while company bosses and shareholders make obscene amounts of money, much of it leaving the country all together.
"RMT will fight tooth and nail to see these workers brought in-house, so they can enjoy the benefits our other members have being directly employed.
“Labour has promised the biggest wave of insourcing for a generation. We intend to hold them to their promises and build on what they have started with GBR."
END
Notes:
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