INTOLERABLE stress levels on Network Rail could lead to industrial action if unsafe staffing issues are not addressed, transport union RMT warned today.

Delegates slammed the “modernising maintenance” programme, which Network Rail forced through without a union agreement, cutting planned maintenance by 50 per cent, reducing front-line staff and imposing wholesale changes to working practices.

“This is a direct consequence of modernising maintenance,” said Charles Fisher, from South East London Operations and Engineering, who seconded the unanimously backed motion.

“We have lost many competent staff, and the reality is people have got so much additional pressure from this failed and discredited system that’s now in place.

“People in signalling and telecommunications would rather leave and get another job than deal with the additional pressures Network Rail have unnecessarily created.

“As a rep, you try and point this out to the employer, but we have been ignored. And we’re not going to tolerate this situation any longer.”

John D’Rozario from Birmingham Engineering, who works on overhead line faults, said Network Rail did not have enough staff to cover all the issues, which is increasing workloads and work-related stress.

Paul Reilly, from Nuneaton, pointed out that he had 34 years’ experience in signalling maintenance, telling conference: “The job is becoming increasingly stressful, with growing pressure to get all the jobs done.

“In many cases, that pressure pushes people to cut corners just to keep up with production demands and respond to faults faster, with less competent staff.

“When we first started on the railway, we had four grades: technician officer, senior technician, a technician and an assistant technician.

“This has been slowly whittled down over the years to a team leader, a technician and an operative.”

With a crisis in recruiting qualified staff and an over reliance on operatives, Mr Reilly said fast-track schemes were rushing people through with competencies on paper but without necessary experience, and that this was negatively impacting his work.

“As a team leader, there is a lot of pressure. I do a lot of testing and tens of thousands of passengers rely on me doing my job correctly,” he said, adding that any mistakes could lead to a crash or derailment.