TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust has urged Labour to protect rail workers as the industry moves towards Great British Railways.
Addressing Labour conference, Eslamdoust said the union supported bringing train operators into public ownership but remained concerned about job losses, potential redundancies and rising threats and violence affecting railway staff.
She welcomed Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander’s willingness to consider public ownership of trains themselves, while saying TSSA wanted to examine the detail. The union argues that publicly owned rolling stock would better serve passengers and taxpayers than the present leasing arrangements.
Eslamdoust said the transition must also protect workers’ pay, pensions and terms and conditions. Her intervention draws a distinction between transferring ownership and delivering the wider reform unions want: a properly funded, safer and more accountable railway.
