UK Railways Set To Cut Thousands Of Jobs Amid Covid Cost Cuts | Railway industry

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Rail companies have started laying off thousands of workers as the industry seeks to cut costs by $ 2 billion after losing millions of passengers to the coronavirus.

Employees working for rail operators have been asked to seek severance pay in a move denounced by unions as ridiculous and a breach of trust.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents railway companies, has not imposed a limit on the number of people who can claim severance pay. He said the program was part of a vital set of reforms for the railroad to recover from the pandemic and respond to changing modes of travel.

Passenger numbers are now at around 65% of pre-Covid levels, after dropping nearly 95% in the first lockdown, but daily journeys on the railroad generating revenue from rush hours and subscriptions are far behind the recovery in leisure travel.

As the government pledged to continue major rail projects, as well as to restore some branch lines lost in the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, the specter of a declining railroad has been rekindled after years of growth. .

Services on networks such as South Western Railway and ScotRail will be reduced in the new timetables.

The TSSA union denounced the government for approving cuts to services and jobs. Secretary-General Manuel Cortes said: Frankly, it is ludicrous that with Cop26 fast approaching, the Conservatives are seeking to cut thousands of rail jobs, which means services on our railways will not will not return to their pre-pandemic levels.

If Boris Johnson and his cronies took decarbonization seriously, they would make it easy for people to get out of their cars and join our railroads.

The RDG said the severance pay scheme was covered by an agreement with the unions signed earlier this year, but the RMT union said it should be withdrawn before serious damage was done to industrial relations.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: It is clear that cutting rail jobs will have a negative impact on passenger service, safety and accessibility. We are sorry that these proposals were sent back to us outside of the discussions we have engaged in through the Rail Industry Recovery Group. It is a serious breach of trust.

Train drivers, who are still scarce in some areas, are unlikely to be offered severance pay.

The RDG said the industry was working hard to adapt and bring back passengers, but the drop in revenue meant hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer support was still provided each month.

Steve Montgomery, Chairman of RDG, said: The railroad can grow and become more customer-focused, with new opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of people who work there, but in order to do that we have to adapt, and we cannot take more than our fair share from the taxpayer.

In collaboration with the unions and our employees, our goal is to guarantee even more rewarding careers for those who want them and to support those who want to leave.

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