The RMT has said South West Trains are to cut 48 customer service jobs.
This comes after ‘staff shortages compounded the chaos of the breakdown of services into Waterloo last Thursday evening‘, the RMT said.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said;
“Just days after staff shortages compounded the chaos of the service breakdowns into Waterloo we can reveal that another 48 customer service staff are due to be axed by South West Trains.
“We are demanding that those cuts be stopped with immediate effect.
“This is simply about profit taking and company greed – the most recent half year results showed profits of more than £100 million.
“Passengers caught in the chaos last week will be rightly outraged.
“We are also demanding an end to the McNulty Review threat to axe guards on all trains. Every report from last Thursday praised the role of the SW Trains guard and the idea that those staff should be next for the chop in the dash to fatten up profits is simply outrageous.”
A South West Trains spokesman said:
“The claims made by the RMT are completely untrue. The fact is we are one of the few train companies to employ a guard on every train. We made changes to our revenue protection and gateline team earlier this year in agreement with the RMT to reflect the extension of automated gatelines at our stations.
“This is clearly a shameless and cynical attempt by the RMT to abuse the plight of passengers affected by last week’s signalling and cable theft problems for its own political ends.”
