Press release from RMT ...

RAIL UNION RMT today called for “decisive government action” over rail franchise chaos as they entered a second week of balloting for strike action over pay and working conditions on National Express East Anglia.

RMT began balloting National Express East Anglia members (excluding revenue protection and fleet) last week for a mandate for strike action over pay, conditions of service and business reorganisation. National Express have failed to make any significant offer on pay whatsoever and RMT have accused them of trying to milk the East Anglia franchise in a desperate bid to prop up their profits and their shareholder dividends in the wake of the collapse of their East Coast route. The strike ballot closes on Wednesday 15th July 2009.

RMT have issued a call to the government to take urgent and decisive action over National Express as it emerged that not only are the company planning an all out fight to hold onto the East Anglia and c2c franchises, contrary to the cross-default rules, but are also sending signals that they may even fight to retain the East Coast Main line despite the announcement by Lord Adonis last week that it is to be renationalised.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said today:

“RMT are in no doubt that the failure to make any kind of meaningful pay offer to staff on National Express East Anglia is all about the company trying to milk the franchises that they have left and to make their staff pay for a crisis which was cooked up in the boardroom by senior managers who have now jumped ship.

“Both Andrew Adonis, and Geoff Hoon before him, made it quite clear to RMT that if National Express defaulted on the East Coast they would be stripped of the c2c and East Anglia franchises and that there would be no reward for failure. We are calling on the government to stand firm, to get this company off our tracks and to seize the opportunity to begin a long-term programme of renationalising the railways.”