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Rail casualisation is a dangerous rip off

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Rail casualisation is a dangerous rip off

Contractors are using bogus self-employment on zero hours contracts to rip off rail workers and create a cut-price and dangerous railway system, according to a new report from the rail union RMT. The report was released on 23 July, to coincide with a meeting between the rail unions and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) where the union demanded that both the industry watchdog and Network Rail 'take urgent and decisive action to stamp out casualisation in the rail industry which is hitting the workforce and compromising safety.' RMT says in a May 2013 letter to the union, ORR's head of safety Ian Prosser conceded bogus self-employment and zeros hours contracts are 'not conducive to the development of a safe railway.' Commenting on the conclusions of RMT's new report on the use of casual labour on the rail system, general secretary Bob Crow said 'we believe that less than 10 per cent are full-time employed and that the remainder may well be working under bogus self-employment on zero hours contracts.' He said the shift to a largely casualised workforce had potentially deadly consequences in a safety critical industry. 'This report outlines the casualisation of Britain's workforce as a whole and in particular on the railway as well as the extent to which it is being promoted by Network Rail and the safety concerns that the ORR have raised about the phenomenon.' The union is calling for an immediate end to bogus self-employment and zero hours contracts and a reduction in the number of agencies and contractors working in the industry.

RMT news release and report: The Great Rail Payroll Rip Off.

Safety on the line, BBC Radio 4 Face the Facts.

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