Daily Mail - 12.08.2019

Page ^ Daily Mail, Monday, August 12, 2019

INSIDE: Puzzles & Prizes 37-40, Television &

Radio 50-53, Cainer 54, Letters 57, City 66

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You brazen

hypocrites!

By James Salmon

Transport Editor

Militant union leaders

were last night accused of

‘brazen hypocrisy’ after pro-

testing about rising train

fares while boasting of secur-

ing inflation-busting pay

rises for rail workers.

Rail staff who have inflicted

strike misery on millions of com-

muters have seen their pay rise

more than twice as quickly as the

national average wage.

the Rail, Maritime & transport

Union (RMt) has bragged to mem-

bers that ‘militant industrial trade

unionism’ has resulted in a 35 per

cent pay increase for the average rail

worker over the past decade.

in contrast, the average wage has

risen by just 13 per cent from £26,

in 2009 to £29,832 in 2018, according

to figures from the Office for

national Statistics.

Salaries range widely, from between

£28,000 and £36,000 for train guards

Clarifications & corrections

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Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

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promptly as possible.

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directly at ipso.co.uk

Rail union bosses moan about

rising fares... that were caused

by THEIR militant strike action

to drivers who can earn more

than £70,000 a year. Meanwhile

almost 1,000 staff at network

Rail are on six-figure salaries.

in its June newsletter, the

RMt referred to the 35 per

cent pay rise and said it is

‘winning battles across the

country in the fight to smash

the pay cap imposed on rail

workers’ by former tory trans-

port secretary Chris Grayling.

But the RMt also revealed it

is planning to stage protests at

more than 30 stations across

the country next Wednesday

when the latest round of fare

increases linked to the Retail

Price index inflation measure

are set to be announced.

the rise – expected to be

around 2.7 per cent –

will add £100 to the cost of

many annual season tickets

from next January. it will be a

blow to millions of commuters

already forced to endure unre-

liable and overcrowded trains.

Mick Cash, of RMt, said the

rise will ‘make the rail network

less affordable and accessible

for the travelling public’.

But Chris Philp , the tory

MP for Croydon South in

south london, who has cam-

paigned to curb union power,

said pay demands have made

it impossible to curb fare

increases. He added: ‘it’s bra-

zen hypocrisy for the unions

to be boasting that their mili-

tant action has secured a pay

increase getting on to three

times what the average worker

has received, while acting sur-

prised when fares have gone

up to pay for that.’

train operators have been

heavily criticised for poor

service, with punctuality lev-

els slumping to a 13-year low

last year. But wages are their

single biggest cost – 36 per

cent of their budget – and are

one of the reasons they need

to push up prices each year.

analysis shows the total

wage bill for rail operators has

soared by more than half in

less than a decade, from £2bil-

lion in 2010-11 to £3.1billion in

2017-18.

Drivers on Southern rail

voted to end strikes after their

the Consumer Price index

instead – which is significantly

lower and is the Bank of Eng-

land’s preferred measure.

But unions have insisted on

using RPi as a starting point

for pay rises and threatened to

strike last year after Mr Gray-

ling urged them to switch.

Julian Knight, the tory MP

for Solihull, said: ‘it is highly

hypocritical to complain

about rising rail fares while

boasting about how much

they are driving up the wage

bill for rail workers.

‘if they are so serious about

curbing rail fares... why don’t

they come to the negotiating

table and moderate their pay

demands? as the rest of the

country has tightened its belts

the RMt has loosened its belt

and gorged itself on the hard-

earned salaries of the public.’

Comment – Page 16

‘Gorged itself on

public’s salaries’

courses provide excellent

opportunities for anyone with

the potential to succeed.’

Some universities have budg-

ets to pay for the foundation

year, while others require stu-

dents to take out extra loans.

Universities open doors to students

with poor grades in ‘diversity’ drive

DOZEnS of universities plan to admit

students who don’t meet their crite-

ria this year – and will put on an extra

year’s tuition to help them catch up.

an increasing number of institutions

are setting aside places in clearing for

those with sub-standard a-levels or good

grades in the wrong subjects, in order to

increase ‘diversity’ on courses.

Students will do an extra ‘foundation

year’ before their degree, to cover the

material they should have learnt in sixth

form. in some cases there are no mini-

mum entry requirements – but students

must show ‘potential’. Russell Group uni-

versity Manchester has a foundation year

in engineering available through clearing.

those admitted need only BBC in science

subjects or aBB in non-science subjects.

leeds is offering six foundation routes,

one of which is offers CDD students a

chance to get on to courses such as Eng-

lish, which normally requires aaa. appli-

cants must prove they suffered disadvan-

tages while growing up.

Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for

Real Education, said: ‘it is a shocking

indictment of our schooling that universi-

ties now have to run remedial catch-up

courses. this recourse to social engineer-

ing is misguided and brings our higher

education system into disrepute.’

Sheffield has 53 foundation routes,

including one in aerospace engineering.

nottingham is offering three foundation

options, including one which allows entry

to its science degrees with just BBB in

non-relevant subjects.

Hundreds of routes are being advertised

by admissions body UCaS, ahead of

a-level results day on thursday. Universi-

ties including leicester, Sussex, East

anglia, Goldsmiths, Southampton and

Kent are offering places. a Southampton

spokesman said: ‘Foundation year

By Eleanor Harding

Education Editor

PUGH IS AWAY

union aslef managed to secure

a 28.5 per cent pay rise for

around 1,000 of its members.

this will push up their basic

salary for a four-day week by

£14,000 over five years, from

£49,000 to £63,000.

labour and union officials

have urged the Government

to freeze fares or link them to

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