29.04.16
Network Rail publish code of conduct for suppliers
Network Rail suppliers will be obliged to comply with a new code of conduct the organisation has published to ensure the companies helping it deliver the Rail Upgrade Plan meet its standards.
The code obliges suppliers to follow key safety regulations, including the 10 Lifesaving Rules and the Sentinel Scheme rules, ensuring vehicles are roadworthy, fitted with speed limiters of 70mph, and checking drivers’ licences and eyesight.
The guidelines also say suppliers must positively engage with communities and avoid behaviour such as ‘littering, removing items of clothing, urination or defecation in a public place, and offensive language’.
Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “The railway depends on the people who work on it. Ensuring that these people behave in a professional and appropriate way is therefore of critical importance to us and to the customers and communities we serve.
“We want to work together with those who share our determination to continuously improve this area. We want to provide clarity on what we expect from our people and the support they can expect from us. This code of conduct will help us do that.”
Suppliers are also encouraged to support apprenticeship schemes which offer employment upon completion. In January, the government pledged to create 30,000 new apprenticeships in the rail and road sectors by the end of this Parliament.
Suppliers are required to report inappropriate behaviour which breaks these guidelines, follow up complaints from neighbours and the community and encourage employers to hold each other accountable.
Last year, Network Rail announced it was to reduce the number of contingent labour suppliers it uses from 57 to 20, with four core suppliers providing 70% of the workforce, supported by smaller specialist suppliers.
However, as part of a ‘strategic change’, the rail infrastructure owner said it would be awarding a series of contracts with contingent labour suppliers to provide workers across the network with a minimum spend of £450m over five years.
(Image c. Network Rail)