Labour and Co-operative Member of
Parliament for Kemptown and Peacehaven

Protest At Lewes Station – Save the Railways – Saturday 4th August

by Lloyd on 03.08.12
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Remember the disaster that was Beeching…..Trains are busier than at any time since the 1920s. They are going to get busier still. Should we be looking to make them pay or ensure they continue as an efficient public service. The McNulty Report about to be used by Government in an attack on Rail in this country will affect you. Hundreds if not Thousands of people locally use trains everyday from Lewes and perhaps think it will not effect them, but it will.

The report  claims that rail workers should lose their jobs and those who remain have pay freezes and inferior conditions because he says there has been a 50 per cent increase in staff costs since privatisation. This claim is completely misleading.

McNulty supports Network Rail’s intention to extend its programme of modernisation by deploying high-output machinery, automating track inspection and using components that require less maintenance. RMT has major concerns about the motivation behind each of these initiatives and in particular their impact on both employment and safety.

McNulty also suggests that infrastructure and rolling- stock maintenance could be locally resourced or contracted out to suppliers and stresses that there is no particular need for these maintenance suppliers to be rail industry specialists, despite it being a safety-critical industry.

McNulty recommends picking and choosing what to maintain and renew, and sweating the assets to maximum life span.

The Government will put out a white paper this autumn and are likely to implement large elements of the McNulty report, this will impact investment, staff levels on stations, trains and track side maintenance and ultimately your safety.

The RMT is mounting a protest against the cuts projected in the McNulty Report. The demo will take place outside Lewes BR station from 10.30 until midday this Saturday 4th August, everyone is welcome in this event to raise the lid on the McNulty report and

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Labour and Co-operative Member of
Parliament for Kemptown and Peacehaven

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