(CMR) Arriva, which runs CrossCountry, Chiltern, Grand Central and London Overground rail services in the UK, has been sold to a firm registered in the Cayman Islands, angering the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).
Deutsche Bahn, which is owned by Germany and has run Arriva since 2010, has sold the company to I Squared Capital for 1.6bn euros, RMT said in a press release.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This sale of Arriva by German state railway to a tax haven registered company underscores what a perverse and corrupt system rail privatization is in this country.”
“Our members have not had a pay rise in over 3 years despite huge profits and dividends generated for shareholders,” Lynch continued
Last year, Arriva received dividends of £9.5 million from London Overground, reported profits of £8m at CrossCountry and £1.6m at Chiltern. Arriva has also been beset by fat cat profiteering, with the top director making more than £1m last year, RMT stated.
“And now we have the prospect of these ill-gotten gains ending up in a tax haven where there is even less scrutiny and even more wealth to be extracted from our railways,” Lynch stated.
“The public, through subsidies, is helping to fund privatization and potentially the closure of 1,000 ticket offices across the network, going against the best interests of the traveling public and railway workers. It is vital to end the racket of privatization and put the railways into public ownership as a matter of urgency,” he added.
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