GOING DUTCH

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2014 :: RMTnews 12 The nationalist Scottish government has handed the franchise to run Scotland's trains for the next decade to the Dutch state-owned rail operator Abellio. SNP Transport minister Keith Brown, who campaigned for an independent Scotland, said that Abellio pitched "the least expensive" bid to take over ScotRail from FirstGroup. Abellio was founded by NS as NedRailways in 2001 to take advantage of European Union demands for the ‘liberalisation’ of the European transport sector. The company’s website said that it “recognised that the UK market was by far the largest and most liberalised market in Europe. Therefore a 50-50 joint venture with Serco was made in order to enter UK market”. Mr Brown has previously admitted that the Scottish government had no choice in the matter as, under EU rules, the tender had to go with who wins the bid. "We don't like the franchise process, not least because you have the absurd anomaly whereby state-owned companies from the rest of Europe can bid but you can't have a public sector bid from the UK. "French, Dutch or German state-owned companies like Arriva can have a large part of the UK network but UK state- owned companies can't,” he had said. The decision has provoked anger from Labour and the unions who had demanded that it should have been shelved until after the Smith Commission on devolution which could permit Holyrood to appoint a public-sector bidder. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that it was scandalous that just weeks after the referendum that the continued privatisation of Scotland's railways has been bulldozed through with the SNP colluding with Westminster to deny the opportunity for this franchise to be brought back into public ownership. “There is no question that this whole franchising process should have been halted, pending the ratification of the post referendum devolution settlement, instead of rushing headlong into a deal that will deny the Scottish people ownership and control of their railways for many years to come. “RMT has legal advice confirming that this process could have been suspended, leaving the responsibility for this fit up firmly in the court of the politicians who promised one thing and then delivered the same old profiteering EU business model. “As a result profits will be sucked out of the system to underpin investment and fares in Holland. “It is a betrayal of the Scottish people and makes a mockery of promises made both before and immediately after the referendum vote. “RMT will continue the fight for public ownership with every means at our disposal,” he said. FOREIGN OWNERSHIP As a result of the SNP handing the Scotrail franchise to Abellio three quarters of UK rail services are now owned by foreign state-owned companies New RMT research shows that twenty of the UK’s twenty seven private rail contracts, the equivalent of seventy four per cent, are now owned by foreign state owned/ backed railways with the vast majority being from France, Germany and the Netherlands. MPs from the RMT’s Parliamentary group have called for an urgent parliamentary inquiry into concerns foreign state owned companies are sucking profits from the UK privatised rail industry so that passengers in foreign states are benefiting from lower fares and better services at the expense of UK passengers. In fact, a German Transport Ministry spokesperson has openly admitted such a strategy in relation to its state operator Deutsche Bahn. “We're skimming profit from the entire Deutsche Bahn and ensuring that it is anchored in our budget - that way we can make sure it is invested in the rail network here in Germany”. The growing domination of UK railways by foreign states is also demonstrated by additional RMT research which shows that Dutch state firm Abellio now operates a network in Britain over two and a half times the size of the one in Netherlands. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the way the railways here were being used as a cash-cow to hold down fares and improve services across the rest of Europe would shock passengers. “With the planned reprivatisation of the East Coast Mainline by this rotten government we are rapidly heading towards a situation where almost the entire train operation in Britain is in the hands of overseas companies sucking out profits to benefit their own domestic transport services. “This outrageous situation is solely down to the right-wing ideology of this government, clearly shared by the SNP in Scotland, which says you can have state operation of railways in Britain as long as it isn’t by the British state for the benefit of the British people. “There must be a full parliamentary inquiry into this appalling racket and the research released today by RMT will be used to fuel our continuing fight for full public ownership of our railways,” he said. GOING DUTCH 75 per cent of rail franchises are now foreign owned after the Scottish government hand Scotrail to the Dutch