HUNDREDS of ScotRail conductors are set to strike next week in the first of a string of walkouts and industrial action in a row over safety.
Passengers could face significant disruption to service during June and July unless a dispute over feared job cuts can be settled.
Around 700 members of the RMT union will stage the first 24-hour walkout on Tuesday June 21 following overwhelming support for industrial action in a recent ballot. This will be followed by a second one-day strike on the day of the EU referendum on Thursday June 23 and a 48-hour walkout by conductors covering the entire weekend of Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 of June.
Additional Sunday strikes are planned for July 3, 10 and 17, along with a series of 24-hours overtime bans starting next Wednesday.
Strikes and work-to-rule were backed by 75 per cent of conductors, based on a 75 per cent turnout.
RMT balloted its members for industrial action after failing to secure guarantees from ScotRail management that it would not extend driver-only or driver-controlled operations across the ScotRail network.
The union believes axing conductors and handing responsibility for the operation of automatic doors to trains drivers on an increasing number of services poses a risk to passenger safety.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "The workforce also know only too well that there is a very real threat to passengers of watering down and wiping out the safety critical role of the guard on these Scotrail services. ?That is a lethal gamble with basic rail safety.
"The union remains available for serious and meaningful talks but the ball is now firmly in Scotrail’s court."
The trade union, which represents the vast majority of conductors in Scotland, previously accused ScotRail management of an "underhand and provocative" attempt to foil industrial action by training up non-RMT staff to fill conductors' posts.
A leaked letter from Manuel Cortes, General Secretary of the Transport and Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), complained that their members had been invited to take part in conductor training in May, around the time that RMT began balloting their members.
ScotRail insisted that no one would be obliged to take part.
Phil Verster, managing director of ScotRail, also dubbed the ballot "inexplicable", stressing that there are no proposals on the table to extend driver-only or driver-controlled operations.
A spokeman for ScotRail confirmed management would hold talks with the union today [wed].
He said: “We believe that the solution to this dispute lies in talks, not strikes. We’re look forward to getting round the table again for continued talks with RMT.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel