“The Government has a responsibility to ensure all outsourced rail workers are brought in-house as part of an integrated, publicly owned system.”
By the RMT
Rail union, RMT is stepping up its national campaign to end outsourcing across the railway with a day of action to put pressure on Northern in Manchester on Wednesday 19 November.
RMT members employed by Carlisle Support Services on the Northern revenue protection and gateline contract took 48-hour strike action last month in response to a culture of bullying and harassment by management.
Now they are demanding they be taken in-house by the government-owned operator as part of the wider rollout of Great British Railways (GBR) to put an end to all outsourcing on the rail network once and for all.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Northern is a publicly owned company. There is no excuse for continuing with a broken outsourcing model that bullies workers and drives down pay, conditions and offers no company sick pay.
“Our members on the Carlisle contract have shown tenacity in standing up to intimidation. They deserve to be treated with dignity and employed directly by Northern.
“With Great British Railways on the way, the Government has a responsibility to ensure all outsourced rail workers are brought in-house as part of an integrated, publicly owned system.”
RMT DAY OF ACTION – END RAIL OUTSOURCING
Location: Manchester Piccadilly Station Approach
Date: Wednesday 19 November
Time: 09:00–11:00
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- This statement was originally posted by the RMT on 11 November 2025.
