RMT Secures Major Victory as Outsourced Rail Staff Move to Direct Employment

Rail union RMT has hailed a major win for rail workers after it was confirmed that the outsourced TransPennine Express dispatch contract will be brought back in-house under Northern Trains. The move will see RMT members currently employed by Carlisle Support Services at Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds stations transferred under TUPE arrangements into direct employment with Northern Trains.

The transfer is scheduled to be completed by May 2026 and is seen by RMT as a landmark achievement for their national campaign to insource rail services. The union said the change will end years of fragmented employment arrangements for staff performing critical frontline duties.

RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said:

“This is a superb victory for our members, our national campaign to end outsourcing and for common sense on the railway. Dispatch workers perform a vital safety-critical role and they should never have been outsourced in the first place. By bringing these workers back in-house, passengers will benefit from a more stable, properly integrated workforce, while staff gain the security, conditions and a stronger voice that comes with direct employment. This shows what can be achieved when unions campaign relentlessly to end the failed outsourcing model.”

RMT confirmed it will continue its broader campaign to end outsourcing across the rail network and hold the Labour government to its pledge to carry out the largest wave of insourcing in a generation.

Image: TransPennine Express