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Transport secretary Justine Greening intends to vote against a proposed bonus for Network Rail bosses that will stand at £20 million in total.

This comes even as Labour accused Greening and ministers of not using their veto powers to halt the payments. During the annual general meeting of Network Rail on Friday, its chief executive Sir David Higgins is expected to receive a bonus payout of £340,000 as well as his basic salary of £560,000. But with Greening voting against the bonus, Network Rail may be pressurised into cutting the annual bonuses.

Although the train operator handles the majority of the U.K.’s rail network, it has been slammed for its poor safety record and track conditions. On Sunday, Greening told the media, "I'm going to go to the meeting next Friday, I'm going to vote against them.” This will mark the first time for Network Rail that a minister of state has voted against its proposed bonuses. But at the same time, Greening does not expect her official position is adequate to halt the payment process. Greening said, "The governance structure that the last government set up means I can go and vote against it. The problem we have got is that won't actually change the result.”

On the other hand, Labour insists that as the Department for Transport is a ‘special member’ of Network Rail, it has powers to determine the quantum of remuneration and incentives for the operator’s executives. Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said, "Greening is wrong to say that she cannot block these bonuses. It is difficult to see why Network Rail would have felt able to propose this new bonus package without knowing if it had ministerial backing."

In response, sources close to Greening accused Labour of misinterpreting company documents and maintained that the transport secretary is powerless as there are 79 other voters. One source pointed out, “Labour knows that the government doesn't have a power of veto, and when in office, repeatedly said that bonuses were an issue for Network Rail and not for government.”

Further, Higgins may also get to share a long-term bonus scheme for the rail group's six executive directors in the next three years that may add up to £15.6 million. These six executives are expected to earn annual salaries of £2.3 million besides bonuses of up to £4.2 million.

Over 20 MPs have signed a Commons motion that says Network Rail has been "found by the Office of Rail Regulation to be in breach of its licence". It has also been blamed for "major asset failures, congested routes and poor management of track condition".

Network Rail has admitted that health and safety violations led to the deaths of two teenagers at a level crossing in 2005. The operator has also been dragged to court the 2007 Grayrigg train crash in Cumbria that killed a passenger.