PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

29 RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2023 :: RMTnews PRIVATISATION HAS FAILED: TIME FOR NATIONALISATION T he news that offshore windfarm construction companies boycotted this year’s UK government auction of renewable electricity generating contracts, which guarantee energy prices for 15 years, exposes private sector limitations in developing critical strategic infrastructure. This biggest clean energy policy failure in a decade occurred when companies found offshore energy costs had jumped by 40% due to supply chain inflation. The absence of giant new offshore windfarms makes UK climate targets difficult to achieve. Just six months ago RMT backed calls by workers in the UK offshore oil, gas and renewables sector for public ownership of energy companies to ensure that transition to net zero protects jobs, communities and the environment. The private sector is failing future energy generation needs, as it failed our railways for thirty years. Today, private firms run less of our rail network than any time since Tory rail privatisation in 1993. Out of seventeen passenger train operators across Britain, seven are run by the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort (OLR) or its equivalent in Wales and Scotland, three by foreign state-owned companies, and three by joint ventures that include foreign state-owned companies. Only four train operators are now run by private companies. Rail privatisation was (mis)sold to the public as a way to bring competition, innovation and investment from the private sector. A total illusion, of course. Competition among train operators was always limited as a few bidders carved up the franchise cake. Genuine innovation requires long-term investment in research and development and private sector investment was minuscule. The privatisation illusion relied on endless growth of passenger numbers and profits, guaranteed by periodic ‘franchising reviews’. Private passenger train operators are a net drain on the taxpayer. It is easy to forget, that British Rail privatisation was sold as a model for the rest of the world to follow. Instead, the shutdown in world trade in 2020 during the Covid pandemic exposed the inadequacies of privatised rail and logistics systems worldwide. While the People’s Republic of China has constructed the largest high-speed rail network in human history - entirely in state ownership – and is reshaping the global economy through ‘One Belt One Road’ - a logistics network of rail, road and docks linking Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe - rail privatisation in Britain has proved to be incapable of delivering sustained investment at scale. In July this year, the official infrastructure watchdog report into HS2, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, stated: ‘Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable.’ Yet, the ideological vested interests that feed parasitically off public sector investment continue to see public transport and freight logistics as a cash cow. On 18 January 2023, the European Commission opened an investigation into ‘illegal state aid’ by French railways (SNCF) to its own publicly owned rail freight company, SNCF Fret. From 2007 to 2019 SNCF Fret is estimated to have received €4.3 billion, cancellation of financial debts of €5.3 billion, and a one-off capital injection of €170 million when it became a commercial company in 2020. French railways is now preparing to liquidate SNCF Fret with the loss of 500 jobs, abandoning a third of its rail freight market and being banned from bidding for it for 10 years, transferring its locomotives to private operators and breaking SNCF Fret into two subsidiaries for private takeover. As with our renewable energy needs, private ownership of passenger and freight rail is a drag on the technical and social developments needed to achieve modal shift from road to rail. Rail privatisation isn’t working. We need to move on. Alex Gordon President’s Column active trade unionist until his death in 1974. People who volunteered to play in support of Len’s statue included Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, legendary boxers Ricky Hatton and Anthony Crolla, and TV stars from Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, All Creatures Great and Small and Gogglebox. They faced off against FC United Legends, a team of former FCUM players which included Tommy Greaves, Mike Norton and Rhodri Giggs. At the end of an energetic game, the teams had drawn 3-3, leading to a penalty shootout which FC United Legends narrowly won 7-6. Joining fans on the day were trade unionists from a number of unions including the RMT, as well as many members of Len’s extended family. Speaking to RMT News, his great-granddaughter Darianne Brown said: “I was so proud and honoured to see so many people come out to celebrate Len’s life and legacy. “His story is finally being told and is reaching people, which is more than a dream come true for me and the rest of my family – it fills us all with so much gratitude that he’s being recognised for the true champion he was,” she said. Meanwhile, match organiser and player Lamin Touray - who was also awarded the Man of the Match for his efforts putting the event together – told RMT News: “It’s been emotional to see so many people come together to celebrate Len Johnson’s legacy. “I’d like to give a shout out to everyone who made the effort to come out, and would urge anyone who has been inspired by Len’s tragic but inspirational story to chip in to the campaign to ensure Len Johnson is honoured in the right way,” he said. You can donate to the fund to build a statue to Len Johnson here: http://www.gofundme.com/f/manchest er-needs-a-len-johnson-statue