Cut fares – Not Staff!

Corbyn with the pickets outside King's Cross

By New Worker correspondent

Jeremy Corbyn joined union members protesting against annual three per cent fare increases, staff cuts and rail privatisation, outside King’s Cross station in London last week. And throughout the country members of the RMT transport union held similar demonstrations outside railway stations to hand out “Cut fares not staff” leaflets and to condemn the extortionate New Year fare increases.

The Labour leader repeated his call for the re-nationalisation of the rail network, calling the price hikes a “disgrace” and stating that Britain should instead “invest in our railways as a public investment”.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the “toxic combination” of mismanagement and profiteering from private companies has forced Brits to endure the nation’s “rip-off railways”.

“British passengers are being forced through the toxic combination of profiteering and mismanagement to pay the highest fares in Europe to travel on packed and unreliable services where safety is being severely compromised.

"The last thing we need on Britain’s rammed out trains is to be axing safety-critical staff and that is why RMT will be continuing the fight for the guard guarantee on Northern and South Western Railways into the New Year.

"Services are at breaking point and in those dangerous conditions removing the staff who are the eyes and ears of the service is nothing less than gross negligence on the part of private operators like Northern and SWR.

“For failing Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to choose to give a kicking to front-line rail staff, ‎working around the clock in all weathers to keep Britain moving, rather than face up to the dangerous chaos he has personally overseen, shows why he is unfit to run a bath let alone a railway.”