Rail re-nationalisation a certainty, says union

The tide in favour of public ownership of the railways has turned “irreversibly” and it is only a matter of time before privatisation is “swept away”, according to a union leader.

In a May Day message, Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, paid tribute to the guards who have been taking industrial action over the past two years in the bitter disputes over staffing on trains.

He said: “Public opinion has now shifted irreversibly in favour of the core objectives mapped out by the trade unions and with this dysfunctional Tory government it is no longera matter of if our railways are brought back into public ownership, it is a matter of when.

“We will not rest until the discredited transport, workplace and economic policies that have caused so much damage to this country are consigned to the dustbin of history.”

RMT members are set to launch a series of fresh strikes in the role of guards dispute, including a 24-walkout on Saturday at Greater Anglia and action next week on Greater Anglia, South Western Railway and Arriva Rail North.