You’re not fit to run ferry service, unions tell firm
‘Disgraceful sell-out’
THE company handed a £345million deal to operate ferry services to the Northern Isles should be ‘nowhere near public contracts’, union chiefs said yesterday.
Serco was named as the preferred bidder of the Scottish Government after it pledged to introduce premium cabins on routes between Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland.
The operator also said it would cut fare prices for islanders. But the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has described the move as a ‘disgraceful sell-out of passengers’ and is calling for publicly owned services.
The contract was won by existing operator Serco NorthLink Ferries, which said it would introduce smart ticketing and improve Orkney terminal facilities.
The contract, which Serco estimates will make £450million in revenue over the first six years of the eight-year deal, will begin on October 31. ‘Fare reductions’ for islanders will be rolled out from January.
Islands Minister Paul Wheelhouse said cabin prices would be cut by 20 per cent between Aberdeen and Orkney and the city and Shetland. The Government also committed to freezing fares for passengers, noncommercial vehicles and cabins on the routes for the next three years.
Mr Wheelhouse said: ‘We have placed our island communities at the heart of the new contract.
‘Ministers will retain control of all of the key issues, such as fares and timetables, through the public service contract.’
But RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the ‘retrograde step’ was ‘a disgraceful sell-out of passengers, workers and taxpayers’ interests in favour of Serco – they should be nowhere near public contracts like the lifeline Northern Isles Ferries’.
He added: ‘This decision is a political handbrake on the move towards the publicly owned and operated Scottish ferries network the RMT will continue to campaign for.’ Orkney Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said: ‘The reductions in fares and cabin costs are a move in the right direction, though fall short of what was promised by ministers.
‘There is no sign of fare reductions being implemented on the Pentland Firth route, or a reinstatement of sailings on that route that were cut when the contract was last tendered. I am concerned, too, that there seems to be no movement in increasing freight capacity.’
Serco Group chief Rupert Soames said: ‘We’ve improved almost every aspect of the lifeline service for the communities and businesses of the Northern Isles, while reducing the annual subsidy and thereby reducing the burden on the taxpayer.’
The Government said efforts to cut fares on the Scrabster to Stromness route have been ‘frustrated’ during talks with Pentland Ferries.