SOUTHERN FAIL!
The contempt currently being shown by Southern Rail (and parent company Govia Thameslink) to staff and customers defies belief.
The Company, blaming staff shortages, is now reducing its services on these already crowded commuter lines by 15%. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) are in dispute with the Company and have staged a number of strikes and walkouts.
Passengers from Sutton who regularly try to travel to and from London Victoria are among the longest suffering travellers in the country.
Services are slow, delayed, crowded and often cancelled without notice. Sometimes, getting home in the same evening as you started out is an achievement – or seems like one.
Southern brought on a dispute with the RMT by proposing to withdraw travel passes and a staff shift swap scheme, both of which they have now reintroduced. They also threatened to remove conductors from trains but have now confirmed these will remain.
Crucially however, they misled the public, blaming train delays and cancellations on staff taking sick days - a claim which has been discredited and is hotly denied. Any employer who shirks their responsibility by blaming their employees has no place running a public service!
The reduction of 341 services, from Monday will leave passengers even more dissatisfied. Their anger will turn on the Company – they know how difficult it is for drivers, conductors and other staff to run a service under these conditions.
Gove Thameslink have proved they are incapable of running a train service. But parent company Go-Ahead reported healthy profits from its rail business. They rose by 30.5 percent to £25.7 million in the year to June.
Chief executive David Brown’s pay package rose to £2.1 million last year.
It’s crucial that thousands of people from Sutton are able to get to vital jobs in London every day.
These Jobs are crucial for the economy. Added to these are the hundredsof thousands from Sussex, Surrey and elsewhere in south London. This is a national issue!
Why should we contemplate massive profits for shareholders and chief officers when passengers pay inflated prices to travel in such conditions?
It is time to call for the national ownership of the railway companies!
Start with the re-nationalisation of Southern Railways!
Will Sutton Labour Party join us in calling for this vital strategy?
