ScotRail has condemned a fifth day of strike action by conductors over an increase in overtime payments.
While rail union RMT said that bosses with Dutch state-owned rail operator Abellio which runs Scotland's railways were blocking talks, ScotRail said the stoppage during the pandemic is "wrong".
The strike comes after the Scottish Government decided to take over the ScotRail franchise in March, 2022 as an "operator of last resort" when the current contract with Abellio ends.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the Scottish Parliament had ruled out extending the existing contract with the Dutch rail operator because “the current franchising system is no longer fit for purpose”.
ScotRail is already facing potential general strike action over a "slap in the face" pay deal while the cost of Scotland's railways is set to soar by over £1 billion over two years due to Covid-19 emergency funding.
The main ScotRail unions including Unite, ASLEF, RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association are consulting with hundreds of workers over industrial action.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Our ScotRail conductors are holding firm once again on the fifth day of strike action in this dispute which is all about basic pay justice and equality with other grades. The resilience and determination of our members in this fight is a credit to the entire trade union movement.
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" Abellio bosses continue to frustrate any move to talks and are quite happy to cancel services, pocket their fees and milk the franchise dry while the front line staff are told there's no money for a fair deal.
“RMT is now focussing on ratcheting up the pressure on the political leadership in Scotland for an intervention that will pile pressure on Transport Scotland and Abellio to end this pay scandal on their watch."
ScotRail said it has been "absolutely clear" in outlining the financial difficulties facing the business, and that it was facing "the most serious financial crisis in its history" which is why it has had emergency taxpayer support of more than £400m to date.
"The focus of everyone should be on making the railway an attractive travel option for passengers, so we can recover ScotRail, keep people moving, and secure jobs for our people, it said.
The run of strikes are due to take place on Sundays till May 2 – and could potentially be extended if no deal is reached with the company.
Members of the RMT trade union voted 238 to 44 in favour of strike action in the ticket examiners dispute and 254 over 28 for industrial action short of a strike.
A ScotRail spokesman said “A strike about an increase in overtime pay in the middle of a global pandemic is wrong, and is forcing many key workers to find alternative and much less convenient ways of travelling to work.
“The railway is in the middle of the biggest financial crisis in its history and the government has made it clear there is no extra money available over and above the nearly half a billion pounds in emergency funding we have already received.
“The people who will suffer most because of this strike are those key workers who depend on trains to get into work to perform their life-saving duties.
“Rather than taking action that puts people off using the railway, we all need to work together to attract more passengers to our services and start getting money in the door again. That’s the only thing that will provide genuine long-term job security for our staff.”
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