THE First Minister has been accused of “peddling ScotRail spin” over the cuts to services, as calls are made for urgent action to fix staffing shortages.
The accusations have been flying as it emerged that service cuts with nationalised ScotRail mean the last trains to major cities will leave before Scotland's World Cup play-off with Ukraine starts.
Ministers are being urged to lay on more trains to ensure the cuts do not stop many of the Tartan Army attending.
Train operator ScotRail confirmed it will slash services by nearly a third from next week due to a driver shortage exacerbated by two pay disputes involving the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Aslef unions after the rejection of a 2.2% pay rise.
ScotRail says the temporary but indefinite move to axe 700 services, which comes into play from Monday, has come as a result of the drivers pay dispute which has meant some refusing to take up the option of working rest days and Sundays.
Scotland's key tie with Ukraine will kick off on June 1 at 7.45pm at Hampden, however the last train to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Aberdeen will leave before kick-off.
The last train from Glasgow to Aberdeen is scheduled to leave at 6.41pm, to Dundee it will be 7.10pm, and to Perth it will be 7.37pm.
The last service to Edinburgh is scheduled for 10.15pm - at least a quarter of an hour before the final whistle would be expected to sound, and that does not take into account any extra time or penalties.
There are now fears that many of the hardcore Tartan Army fans could miss the match.
Scottish Labour says that when challenged over brutal cuts to ScotRail services at First Minister's Questions, Nicola Sturgeon attempted to pin the blame on workers, claiming they were “made necessary by a pay dispute”.
The party said this echoed excuses made by ScotRail over recent days, as the beleaguered operator struggled to justify widespread disruption.
However, Scottish Labour has hit back at what it called “cynical nonsense”, pointing out that the fundamental problem is a longstanding shortage of train drivers due to poor workforce planning which has been papered over by drivers agreeing to work on rest days and take on huge amounts of overtime.
It said that as of May 20 there was not one single ScotRail train driver job being advertised on their website – despite Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth’s claims otherwise.
Scottish Labour's transport spokesman said: “It shameful to see Nicola Sturgeon lifting from the ScotRail playbook and attempting to pin the blame for her government’s failings on frontline workers.
“This cynical nonsense won’t do anything to fix the real problems or help the passengers left stranded by this woefully poor service.
“Rail workers have been going above and beyond to keep things running despite years of poor leadership and failed workforce planning – and in return the SNP and ScotRail are pointing the finger at them, while failing to advertise a single job.
“Public ownership was supposed to be a new start – but instead passengers are being left with higher fares, more cancellations, and the same old excuses.
“Instead of peddling ScotRail’s spin the SNP government need to show some leadership and act to address the workforce crisis at the heart of this mess.”
Phil Campbell, ScotRail head of customer operations, said: “We’ll be issuing travel advice for the upcoming Scotland internationals in the lead up to the games.”
RMT have confirmed railway workers will be balloted on strike action.
The unions said the timing of its strike ballot would be set out in due course.
Minister Jenny Gilruth when asked if the reduced timetable would be in place until the summer of next year, said: "Absolutely not. We want trade unions to come back to the table. But it is absolutely true to say that the network is dependent on rest-day working at the present time.
She added: "We need to get to a resolution on pay and I am absolutely committed to doing so with our trade union partners."
A typical ScotRail qualified driver salary is earning £52,000 and drivers are being offered a 2.2% pay rise and the opportunity to participate in a revenue share arrangement which would take the total package to 7%.
The RMT union said workers had already been subject to repeated pay freezes and real terms cuts in living standards.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "ScotRail needs to put its hands deeper into its pockets and start rewarding their staff properly.
"We are in the midst of a brutal cost of living crisis for workers, but it is still party time for shareholders, speculators and big business executives.
"All we are asking for is a pay award that reflects the value of railway workers and the service they provide to the public day in, day out."
Ms Gilruth said rail service cuts were “the opposite of chaos” after she met train operators yesterday
She said: “It is not going to be a summer of chaos. I would not describe it as that.
“Actually, the reduced service is deemed necessary by Scotrail, we need to remember, to give passengers certainty.
“So, it’s the opposite of chaos, arguably, because it’s certainty in the next few weeks about where and when they can travel by rail, but it’s not where we should be in terms of provision. I accept that.
“I’m absolutely committed to working with ScotRail and our trade union partners to get to a better place but that requires both ScotRail and the trade unions to work together.
Earlier on yesterday, Aslef’s Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay said: “The public need honesty and action, not political game playing.
“From day one Aslef has been 100% committed to negotiations.
“The reality is we’ve been waiting on more talks since our five-minute meet on May 4. Since then, we have only heard from them through the media.
“We have had no correspondence and no offer in writing at any time. We’ve not had the details of the 2.2% offer, or the proposed bonus scheme, in writing from them.
“It is high time ministers stopped the spin and instructed ScotRail to withdraw their attempt to butcher the timetable, which is more about the purse than the passengers, and to get back round the table for immediate, meaningful talks on pay.
“We remain available any time, any place, anywhere to save Scotland’s railways from these politically motivated service cuts.”
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