Rail unions have mixed reactions to Trevelyan’s appointment
Rail unions have had mixed reactions to yesterday’s appointment of Anne-Marie Trevelyan as new transport secretary.
The union RMT has called on Trevelyan to adopt a fresh approach to rail disputes, facilitating discussions between workers and companies.
“There is clearly now the opportunity for a new approach from the government to facilitate discussions between the RMT and the employers where the train companies and Network Rail are given more flexibility to secure a deal that is in the interests of workers, passengers and the country as a whole,” RMT’s general secretary Mick Lynch said in a letter to the secretary.
Relations between unions and the Department for Transport (DfT) have been tense over the last few months as a result of rail strikes, which threatened to bring the UK down on its knees during the “summer of discontent.”
Union bosses repeatedly accused former transport secretary Grant Shapps of prolonging the disputes between workers and rail operators for political reasons, saying he was “waging an ideological war” against union members.
Shapps, on the other hand, rebutted the accusations, arguing that the country was held to ransom by union bosses “seeking to protect outdated work practices that have no place in the 21st century.”
Trevelyan, on the other hand, has gone on record as opposing ticket office closures in her constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Alongside salaries, jobs and working conditions the closure of ticket offices is one of the main points of contention between unions and the government.
“We are encouraged that you are on the record as wanting to save rail ticket offices, staffing and services in your own constituency and I would urge you to continue this approach as Secretary of State,” Lynch added.
However, not everyone was hopeful about Trevelyan’s appointment, which was announced as part of Prime Minister Liz Truss’s cabinet reshuffle.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the new Secretary of State for Transport, is a climate change sceptic who has said ‘We aren’t getting warmer, global warming isn’t actually happening’ when we all know, actually, that it is.
“To appoint a transport secretary who doesn’t appreciate why having a green, and sustainable, transport system is so important does not fill us with hope for the future.’
Aslef, alongside the RMT and the TSSA, will strike on 15, 17 and 26 September.