Prisoners in 'chain-gang' claims

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Rail contractors are using prisoners as cheap "chain-gang" labour, a union boss has claimed.

General secretary of transport union RMT, Bob Crow, expressed "alarm and anger" at news that seven prisoners had worked night shifts on the railways.

The inmates, from Moorland Open Prison near Doncaster, worked on the West Coast Mainline from London to Glasgow.

Network Rail has insisted the prisoners were not involved in any "safety critical" work.

Offender rehabilitation

But Mr Crow said the issue raised serious concerns.

He said: "We are not opposed to the idea of offenders being rehabilitated through work, but not at the expense of workers in the industry, not if it is about cheap labour and certainly not if it involved safety critical work.

These guys have been deemed fit to work on the railways but doing the safety critical work is a specialised job Network Rail

"It appears that rail contractors are cynically using prisoners as cheap chain-gang labour and that raises a host of issues, not least what rights these people have at work and what opportunity they have to be represented by a union."

Though they were employed through an agency, Network Rail said it was aware that prisoners were working on the railway.

A spokesman said: "Like many large employers, Network Rail uses agencies from time to time to plug gaps in its labour force.

"Anyone who works on the railway is properly accredited, trained and supervised at all times.

"Only appropriate people who are properly trained do the safety critical work.

"These guys have been deemed fit to work on the railways but doing the safety critical work is a specialised job."

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that seven "fully trained" prisoners had been working on the railway as part of their rehabilitation.