Conduct of Wabtec Rail Ltd

That this House notes with alarm reports that Wabtec Rail Ltd, based at the historic Doncaster New Erecting Shop, birthplace of the world-famous Flying Scotsman and Mallard locomotives, is making 80 jobs redundant and forcing staff to re-apply for their jobs on inferior terms and conditions; condemns this cruel attempt to fire and rehire staff, a shameful abuse of employment law that risks the livelihoods and living standards of skilled rail workers across the Doncaster and South Yorkshire region; notes that this threat to jobs, pay, terms and conditions follows 12 months of negotiations with the RMT union seeking a solution to the financial problems faced by the company, following previous significant job losses at the Doncaster site; calls on Wabtec to withdraw this threat and instead return to the negotiations table with the RMT union; and further calls on the Government to outlaw the unethical and shameful practice of fire and rehire as a matter of urgency.