RAIL bosses and unions must end outdated practices to deliver a seven-day service, says the Transport Secretary.
The current reliance on volunteer drivers had created a patchwork mess, Heidi Alexander claimed.
AlamyThe railway’s current reliance on volunteer drivers has created a ‘patchwork mess’[/caption]
AlamyTransport Secretary Heidi Alexander says she wants a ‘grown-up’ relationship with unions[/caption]
She said: “I’m clear we need a seven-day railway.
“One of the problems the public experiences at the moment is that on a Sunday in some parts of the country, it requires staff to volunteer to work.
“It’s a patchwork quilt of contracts, terms and conditions.
“We need to talk to the trade union leadership about how we move together to providing that seven-day service.”
Ms Alexander said she wanted a “grown-up” relationship” with unions but made clear she would not back down if they refused to modernise.
On her approach to future pay negotiations, Ms Alexander declared: “We need to reform some working practices.
“And so when we have negotiations about pay, for example, we need to be clear what productivity improvements we want in return.”
And on Labour’s plans to bring rail operators into public ownership, she argued it would help tackle delays and cancellations by streamlining management and cutting red tape.
Ms Alexander said: “If you’ve got one person in charge of both train operations and sorting out infrastructure problems, then this is going to lead to much better management.”
She was launching screens at Reading station showing punctuality and cancellations.
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