
30 July 2018
RMT Press Office:
With Northern Rail back in the headlines rail union RMT tables motion at TUC in Manchester calling for Grayling to go
WITH NORTHERN RAIL back in the headlines again this morning rail union RMT has confirmed that it has tabled a motion at this year’s Trade Union Congress in Manchester in September calling for Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to go.
The motion, contained within the TUC preliminary agenda published this morning, says:
“Congress believes the collapse of Carillion, a major rail contractor; the failure of the Virgin/Stagecoach on the East Coast Line; the rail timetable chaos (which also led to increased threat of assaults against rail workers); the cancellation of rail electrification projects; and loss of skilled rail jobs has shown again that the privatisation and fragmentation of our railways and public services has been an abject failure.
“Even though these rail policy disasters have taken place under Chris Grayling he has refused to take any responsibility and Congress supports the growing calls for Chris Grayling to resign.”
The TUC motion comes amid growing calls again today for the Transport Secretary to clear his desk as the spotlight shifts back to the Northern Rail chaos and as a new damning report is issued which condemns the Government for failing to get a grip on the transport crisis across the North.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said:
“In any normal political circumstances Chris Grayling would have been long gone but in these days of crisis Government he is clinging to the wreckage of our transport services like a rat clinging to the deck of a sinking ship. It’s a shocking state of affairs and with the spotlight once again shifting to the chaos on Northern Rail it is time for this national embarrassment to be brought to a close and for Grayling to go.
“The Government, the DfT and their cheerleaders at the self-styled Rail Delivery Group have lost the confidence of staff and passengers alike and the only real solution is for the whole racket of privatisation to be swept away once and for all and that means public ownership and public control of the entire rail network.”
Ends.
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