FERRY workers are to be balloted for strike action after lifeline services connecting Orkney and Shetland to the mainland were handed to a private company.
The vote for industrial action by members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) comes amid claims staff pensions will be cut, jobs axed and new flexible working arrangements introduced.
The RMT accused Serco, which is due to take over Northern Isles services next month, of reneging on pension agreements staff had with publicly-owned Northlink, which oversees the routes.
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