South West Trains (SWT) has been accused of attempting to conceal the true extent of its planned job cuts, according to a union.
The Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) is furious that the firm announced 100 extra job losses on top of the 660 already proposed, bringing the new total to 15% of its workforce. The extra jobs will go in the revenue protection department, on top of 100 already announced in that area, the union claimed.
SWT has denied the claims, stating they were a “work of fiction”, and that there were no plans to announce any further job losses. “The position is very clear – we have proposed a net reduction of 100 positions on revenue protection duties,” a spokesperson told the BBC.
But the union is pressing ahead with a ballot to 2,000 members at the train company on strike action, as the firm has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.
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RMT general-secretary Bob Crow said: “It was already a disgrace that a company handing tens of billions in dividends to fat-cat shareholders has the brass neck to threaten the jobs of the people who actually deliver the service. But to try to conceal the full extent of their planned cuts is dishonest, disingenuous and downright shabby.”
SWT operates routes through Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Devon, Somerset and London.
