Railcare owners Knorr-Bremse 'encourage' ex-workers to apply for jobs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-24396917

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Rail refurbishment workers being invited to apply for new positions after being made redundant is a "bitter pill to swallow", Unite has said.

Railcare went into administration in August with the loss of 33 jobs at Springburn, Glasgow, and 118 at Wolverton, Milton Keynes.

Its buyers, Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems, said former employees were now being "encouraged" to apply for jobs.

Unite said the invitation was a "bitter pill after a rollercoaster few months".

The sale to the UK branch of the German company secured more than 200 skilled jobs of people who were still employed.

It is now advertising new positions only in the Milton Keynes and Springburn areas and said it "expects and hopes former Railcare employees will apply" but they are not being given preference and it would not exclude anybody else who applied.

Company spokesman Nick Brailey said the company wanted to "build on the business and expand it".

"What we are trying to do is to get people's CVs to see what skills they have, to ascertain if these align with the business going forward," he said.

Unite added: "Unite, the country's biggest union, strongly urges new owners, Knorr-Bremse, to re-employ those workers sacked over the summer, on the same terms and conditions, as a top priority before extending the recruitment net wider."