Kevin Lindsay is Aslef's Scottish organiser
THE current strikes represent a critical moment for the future of rail travel in the UK. The Tories and their cronies in private rail companies have a vision for rail that’s intent on managing decline not investing in improvement.
In contrast, we believe investing in and improving rail services and bringing all elements of our rail services (including rolling stock companies) back into public ownership is vital for our economy, social policies and the green agenda. Rail services are crucial to help decarbonise the economy and meet environmental obligations.
Investing in rail services means investing in their greatest asset: the workers. Our members and those of our sister unions are the key workers who kept people and goods moving during the pandemic. Yet, over the past three years, they have not had a single pay rise.
In the same period dividends have been paid to shareholders and senior railway managers continued to receive eye-watering salaries and bonuses. These same managers refuse to countenance a pay rise for our members.
Our members have had enough of being treated with disdain; they are sick and tired of a rigged economic orthodoxy that has allowed privateers to get away with this rip-off for too long. Enough is enough.
This industrial action is UK-focused involving several rail companies. The Tories, deploying Thatcherite thinking, have deliberately interfered and halted our negotiations with the companies. They appear to be spoiling for a fight and want conflict with trade unions. This is a huge miscalculation. The Tories will not bend our will, our members are resolute and will not be bullied.
In Scotland, we settled earlier this year with the publicly-owned operator, ScotRail. However, the Scottish Government also has its questions to answer about its vision for the future of our railways. This time last year the joint rail unions were putting the finishing touches to our report, A Vision for Scotland’s Railways.
We created this vision in the absence of a plan from the Scottish Government. It was almost universally well received. Whilst the Scottish Government took ScotRail back into public ownership it now needs to implement the rest of our proposals.
This week we have written to the First Minister asking her to meet us on the anniversary of the publication of our report. We want to hear if she agrees with our vision of affordable fares, expanded services, accessible well-staffed and attractive stations, enhanced freight services and the privateers driven out of our industry. Sadly, up until now, the Scottish Government has not shared our vision. Now is the time for them to pick whose side they are on.
Do they agree with the workers or the Tory vision of managed decline for rail services? Or, do they agree with us about the need for accessible, attractive and affordable rail travel that shifts people from road travel onto trains and buses?
As a priority we want her Government to support investment in the people who keep our rail services going, removing peak fares premium, extending concessions to bus travel to rail and speeding up plans for the removal of the 50-year-old HST fleet. In so doing making clear her commitment to investing in and transforming Scotland’s railways into the world-class services needed to meet our environmental obligations whilst also growing our economy.
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