A MAJOR rail company is poised to take over the jobs that Jarvis workers were meant to do.

At the same time, York MP Hugh Bayley has called on Harriet Harman, speaker of the House of Commons, to take action to ensure that 1,200 Jarvis workers made redundant last week – about 350 of them in York – are employed by whoever wins the contracts from the Government’s infrastructure company, Network Rail.

It is thought that three companies are interested – Babcock, Amey-Colas and Balfour Beatty.

A leaked email from John Howie, chief executive of Babcock, to his rail division staff suggested the engineering company was already in “exclusive discussions” with Network Rail over track renewal volumes.

The discussions relate to track renewals in the London North East and Midlands – all areas where Jarvis had contracts.

Mr Bayley yesterday called on Ms Harman to ask Transport Secretary Lord Adonis and Minister for Yorkshire Rosie Winterton to meet with him to discuss the issue.

He told her: “The skills of the (Jarvis) workforce are essential to the future of the railway. “Network Rail is re-tendering the Jarvis work and whoever wins this work must re-employ the Jarvis workers.”

Ms Harman undertook to arrange a meeting and shortly afterwards Mr Bayley began discussions with Ms Winterton.

Meanwhile, about 200 Jarvis workers, all members of the RMT Union, are planning to march in protest through Doncaster to Ms Winterton’s office on Friday.