LABOUR rail minister threatened a company with severe financial and reputational damage if they didn’t fire one engineer for doing his job. It’s great to see New New Labour being so pro-worker…
if they didn’t fire one engineer for doing his job. I
I am of the opinion no government minister should have the right to threaten government contracts over demads of a companies HR department on an indevidual.
And have written to my MP demanding he question the government o. This.
But if you. Read the letter. The engineer made declararions to the independent news paper.
PR is not his job. Ad engineer is not employed to make media anouncments as part of their job.
His actions were a personall choice. One I fully support.
But. Not part of his job.
If you read lord henly letter. (Linkked to in the article) the Minister is claiming this engineer is critisizing the companies clienr network rail.
This is false. He is commenting on train ovee crowding. This is not a network rail task. The tracks are their job.
It is instead a government job.
One they follow for animal welfare. As trains have limits for transporting animals.
No such laws exist for human transport.
So it is very very much the ministers department and parliment the enlgineer is critisizing. And a clear freedom of speach issue.
Please everyone write to your MP insisteing they question the government on this.
I love how Hendy’s (the UK rail minister) wiki page has already been updated. He now has two controversial incidents…
"In 2013, Peter Hendy, who was then the Commissioner of Transport for London, was accused of engaging in a nine-month extramarital affair with a call girl. She alleged that Hendy provided her with several Oyster cards loaded with £10 as gifts.[18]
In 2024, Hendy faced significant criticism after a letter, released under a Freedom of Information request, revealed he pressured SYSTRA to dismiss an employee, rail engineer Gareth Dennis, for publicly voicing safety concerns regarding overcrowding at London’s Euston station"
If you read his letter. He is useing government resorces to silance a critic of himself.
He claims it is Network Rail the engineer critisized. But over crowding laws and enforcment is a government job. His department in the case of rail.
Also the critisism thar the station is dangerouslt overcroded has already been made by the government road and rail safty department OOR. A non ministerial department under his department.
Also if he was correct he was chair of Network Rail from 2015 to 2023.
So he is very much using governmene resources and spending to restrict critisizing his own actions and roles.
Seriosly this is an extremely abusinve and narcissistic use of his power.
Time to write to your MPs. Any party.
And demand parliament insists the government fires him.
Let’s face it. Even if this employee was talking out of his arse. Raising concerns over safety should never be a firable offence.
And any minister who insists on it. Is in no way representing the people.
When you then add. A government minister useing a threat of refusing national contracts. Unless its HR department acts based on his own feelings.
If ministers want the ability to punish individual utility workers. Nationalise the companies. Then at least the government is responsible for the consequences of such actions.
This is clearly an abuse of power.
Write to your MPs and demand they question the governmwnt about the legitimacy of these actions.
