The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Ball’ s in your court’, union tells Scotrail
Union leaders have urged Scotrail bosses to come up with an improved offer for train drivers in a bid to get the country’s railways running normally again.
Kevin Lindsay of the trade union Aslef insisted “the ball is clearly in Scotrail’s court now” when it comes to resolving the dispute over pay – which has led to the rail operator slashing about a third of services on an emergency timetable.
That has been brought in as drivers are currently refusing to work on rest days.
An increased pay offer of a 4.2% rise has already been rejected by Aslef as unacceptable without being put to a formal ballot of members – with David Simpson, the Scotrail service delivery director, describing it as “astonishing” that the deal had not been put to members.
Kevin Lindsay, the union’s Scottish organiser, defended the move, saying Aslef had “many different layers of democracy in the union”.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: “We held a series of open meetings across Scotland and online, where over 250 train drivers attended, and we only had one person saying this offer was acceptable.”
Talks are now due to resume with the recently nationalised Scotrail on Monday, with Mr Lindsay
saying be believes a deal is “close”.
He warned if an agreement cannot be reached, the union could ballot for industrial action.
Mr Lindsay said that could see the union “ballot for a withdrawal of all overtime working” by drivers, as well as seeking a series of 24-hour strikes.
He said: “I do not want to go on strike, we’ve never
been on strike in Scotland for over 20 years.
“I believe we are close to a deal, I believe there is money in settlement that is already there that can be used in a different way to ensure we get a fair settlement and we can get Scotland’s trains running again.”
Transport Scotland said yesterday it was “disappointed” Aslef had dismissed the 4.2% offer.
A spokesperson said: “We all need to work together to make nationalisation a success. Ministers are committed to ensuring that the railway unions are part of that success.
“However, to be part of the vision moving forward, the unions need to agree on a deal that is both fair and affordable, particularly in the context of wider public sector pay policy.”