Rail union RMT is to join sister unions at Bombardier’s Derby plant in a Parliamentary rally and lobby to save Bombardier jobs tomorrow [12 October].

In July, Bombardier announced 1,429 job losses at its factory in Derby after it failed to win a TfL Thameslink contract.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow says: “The battle for Bombardier and the future of train building in the UK remains well and truly on. We don’t want warm words from the government about manufacturing jobs and apprenticeships — we want them to get off their backsides and intervene now to save the ten thousand jobs under threat from the Bombardier betrayal. They will pay a political price of huge proportions across the East Midlands if they fail to take this issue seriously while there is still time.

“The Thameslink contract has been a fit-up from start to finish. RMT has shown that the government spent 10 times as much for advice from lawyers and accountants than engineers with more than £20m spent on management consultants to oil the wheels of the Bombardier stitch up.

“It is shameful that the procurement exercise has been dominated by accountants and management consultants on fat fees while the skills, and engineering excellence of Bombardier at Derby has been totally ignored. Our lobby and rally will demand that the government put right this wrong.”