UNION TALKS OVER JOBS CUTS CONTINUE

Wednesday 4 Aug 2004

UNION TALKS OVER JOBS CUTS CONTINUE

Region & Route:: National

Consultation with the Trade Unions got underway yesterday as Network Rail started talks with the unions to explain its proposed new efficient maintenance organisation. Contrary to the claims made by the TSSA: · No compromise on maintaining safety standards · No frontline staff to be affected by the proposed changes · 900 potential headcount reduction out of some 16,000 working in maintenance (5%) · 900 reduction part of 2,000 headcount reduction revealed in June 2003 · 600 managers and admin staff let-go in November 2003 with no affect on performance or safety standards A Network Rail spokesman said: “We’ve just started our consultation with the unions and the talks will continue over the coming weeks. Our aim is to deliver a better performing, more affordable railway with safety at the forefront of everything we do.”

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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