How closely involved is the government in the rail dispute? And will the @uklabour leadership’s ‘no picket line’ policy backfire with the unions? More on @BBCr4today and @bbc5live between 630 and 7 this morning
So how involved are govt? This is what one of the recently-signed contracts between the Dept of Transport and a train operating company says about industrial action: ‘the Operator’s handling of such industrial action will be subject always to the secretary of state’s direction’
And ‘during the contract term the Operator shall not…enter into any new Employment Agreements..without the prior written consent of the Secretary of State’
The DfT says: ‘The Industry are leading on proposals to reform the railway workforce and as the employer they negotiate with the trade unions in relation to reform…
DfT provides support to industry to deliver their proposals’
And on @BBCBreakfast transport sec @grantshapps says calls for him to get involved in the rail talks ‘is a stunt’ and if he did so it would ‘undermine and distrupt the discussions’ and simply ‘provide a bit of theatre’- it is ‘the job of the employers’ to meet with the unions
In Liverpool, the rail union @TSSAunion has accepted a 7.1pc pay increase from #merseyrail - which runs commuter services and is not part of the national negotiations
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lawyers for @jeremycorbyn have failed to get the courts to force @UKLabour to release documents -including minutes or notes of a meeting between @Keir_Starmer and the former leader's supporters incl @LenMcCluskey and communications between the party leadership and Margaret Hodge
The @UKLabour lawyer denied that the documents being sought existed and the judge said -in effect- even if they did, they did not need to be disclosed in order to bring a case against the party over the suspension of the whip. Meanwhile discussions have continued
Behind the scenes on how the whip may be restored and if a full blown legal challenge can be averted. @jeremycorbyn's backers say it was wrong to suspend the whip when he had been restored to party membership by an NEC panel following an inquiry in to his comments re #EHRC report