On first anniversary of Merseyrail guards' dispute RMT demands that Metro Mayor calls a halt to the cuts madness.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said; “This dispute has needlessly dragged on for a year now due to the fact that it hasn’t cost the employer, Merseyrail, a single penny piece. Liverpool City Region council tax payers are having to secretly repay Merseyrail all of their losses and costs of the year long strike in a public bail out of epic proportions. Local people are paying to finance a potentially lethal policy that they have made it clear they don't support.

"RMT has learned that the vast majority of Labour councillors have not been told by the senior council leaders that their local authorities are bankrolling this private, cash rich train company. It is an absolute scandal that just as councillors are agonising over budget cuts; all six local authorities are exposed to an unknown amount of liability simply in order to write the Merseyrail bosses a blank cheque.

"The private operators of the Merseyrail system are sitting at their desks piling up a mountain of receipts ready to hand them over to hard hit councils for payment, and councillors and the public are being kept in the dark about it by their leaders, it’s outrageous”

“It’s time for Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, and the leaders of the six councils, to call a halt to this madness. There is no reason why they cannot instruct Merseyrail to put a second safety critical member of staff on all of the new trains. If they can do it after 8pm they can do it for all of the Merseyrail services.

"It was only last week that we saw a guard calm and inform passengers stranded for three hours on a train outside Old Roan station following a serious and frightening electrical failure due to snow. That happened at half-six in the morning. The public are demanding to keep the guards on Merseyrail trains. On this first anniversary of the RMT dispute it's now time for the politicians to either listen to the people they claim to represent

Mr Cash refers to the six councils being involved. Presumably this is a reference to the five councils that represent the old Merseyside Council area plus Halton. Whilst Halton is part of the Liverpool City Region, as far as I am aware it has no input into the Merseyrail system.

PPPPPP seems to come to mind Mr Cash.

Why should Labour Councillors be told, seemingly to the detriment of of non Labour Councillors. Is Mr Cash quite simply politicising this dispute?

Perhaps the aforesaid Mr Cash, or one of his staff can explain why, when guards strike, the drivers are almost obliged not to cross a picket line whilst station staff in the ticket offices and a station entrances and exits such as are at Chapel Street work as normally.

Lastly I understand that at least two drivers from Southport have crossed picket lines on the last two strike days. Would Mr Cash care to comment?

More RMT madness.