DfT turned “blind eye” to levels of union action

In its Rail franchising in the UK report, the Public Accounts Committee concluded that Government “turned a blind eye to the potential level of industrial action” on the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise.

“The Department told us that it expected this to cause some disruption for passengers, although it admitted that it had not discussed its plans with the rail unions,” the PAC said.

It said the RMT had told it that no specification for any franchise has ever been shared with the union, and that extending Driver Only Operation was not in the public consultation for the Southern routes.

PAC’s report added that drivers’ union ASLEF claimed DfT had accepted the Govia Thameslink Railway DOO plan without fully evaluating the possible impact on passengers as a result of industrial action.

“While the Department seeks to heap blame on the unions, it must acknowledge that its own decisions and lack of constructive engagement have played a large part in the dismal service for passengers,” said the report.

PAC said RMT had called 38 strike days between April 2016 and November 2017, and ASLEF had called six strike days between December 2016 and November 2017, and formally introduced overtime bans for 64 days in total between December 2016 and July 2017.

The report said that between July 2015 (when GTR took over running the full franchise) and March 2017, around 56,000 (38%) of all cancellations were due to train crew availability issues.