Jarvis's jobless

He has a point. After all, the company's cash flow dried up after Jarvis bid for so many Government private-finance contracts that it could not handle them all. The firm struggled on, but reached the point where it could not survive the public-spending slowdown and its bankers would no longer bail it out. Jarvis eventually collapsed in March, with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

It hardly speaks volumes for Network Rail, however, that it continued to employ such a poorly run and inefficient company for so many years and the fact that it effectively pulled the plug on Jarvis, by deferring work on track renewal, means that it bears some moral responsibility, at the very least, for the jobless workers' present plight.

This is why the cries of ex-Jarvis employees, who staged a rally in Leeds yesterday, should not be ignored. Network Rail may be unable to recognise their value, never mind the justice of their cause, but whoever forms the next government cannot afford to be so short-sighted.

No one should expect poorly managed companies to be bailed out, but skilled workers, who have given their all for their employer and who have much more to offer, are another matter entirely.