Dismissed Railtrack chief still drawing £300,000 pay

The man dismissed last summer from Railtrack after taking much of the blame for the worst rail disruption in peacetime Britain is still drawing his salary from the bankrupt company.

Jonson Cox, chief operating officer at Railtrack for 11 months, is getting £300,000 a year plus pension payments under a deal he struck with fellow directors. Mr Cox and the company agreed he would be paid £25,000 a month for 13 months, or until he finds another job. If he has not found one by the end of the financial year, his salary will show on the Government's books as part of public-sector debt.

Vernon Hince, acting general secretary of the RMT union, described the arrangement as "obnoxious''. He said: "When my members are dismissed for getting it wrong, they stop getting paid like most other people in Britain. Goodness knows why company directors in general, and Mr Cox in particular, manage to walk away with a bonus of a year's pay. It is a reward for failure.

"I think Mr Cox should try to get a job as soon as possible, even if it means stacking shelves in Asda. He doesn't have much incentive to go out into the market and look for a job and I suppose he's not going to take anything that pays less than £300,000 a year."

Mr Cox was accused of being primarily responsible for imposing the nationwide speed restrictions after the Hatfield derailment that left four people dead, and failing to get the network back to normal. The former executive, who lives near Milton Keynes, was unavailable for comment last night.

¿ The RMT, the biggest rail union, said two 48-hour strikes were planned next week, crippling services at SouthWest Trains on Thursday and Friday and the following Monday and Tuesday. They are protesting about a plan to award drivers a higher pay increase than other workers. The RMT's SouthWest train crews also plan a day-long walkout on 8 Januaryover disciplinary procedures against union activists.