Rail unions will call on the government today to stop operators cutting jobs.
The RMT union will meet transport minister Geoff Hoon to urge an industry-wide moratorium on job losses and to put a stop to paying shareholders dividends, to avert an industry crisis which will limit the ability to provide services.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “It is critical for the future of the rail industry that the government intervenes now to stop the jobs massacre.”
He added: “Thousands of rail worker jobs are on the line and up to a third of this year’s essential renewals programme [for building new tracks] is being deferred.”
Train operating companies would be looking to make more redundancies as the recession continues to bite, Crow warned.
This Friday (1 May) Stagecoach RMT members are due to stage a strike over 200 threatened job losses.
