A DfT official has been forced into an apology after making derogatory remarks about train drivers at a public meeting in Croydon.
Peter Wilkinson, the director of Rail Passenger Services, told the audience that those of us who planned to resist cuts and attacks on our terms and conditions could "get the hell out of [his] industry".
We suggest Mr. Wilkinson does some thinking about whose industry it really is. If any of us didn't turn up for work, trains wouldn't run and stations wouldn't open. If Mr. Wilkinson didn't turn up for work... would anyone notice?
Stern press statements from RMT and Aslef turned the heat up on poor Peter and he was soon scurrying to say sorry. But his comments make even plainer something that we've known for a while: post-McNulty, the government and the TOCs it tenders to have got our industry - including our jobs, pay, terms, and conditions - in its sights. The crux of Wilkinson's speech was that he expected strikes in response to planned cuts, but was confident that the employers could outlast us. Let's prove his expectations of strikes correct, and his expectation of the outcome wrong!
Click here to read Peter Wilkinson's original remarks.
