Rail staff cancel strike ‘as goodwill’

Rail workers have called off a strike planned for Cup Final day next weekend as a gesture of “goodwill”.

The TSSA union said their grievances with Scotrail over working patterns still stand, but they are conscious of the public safety threat created by CCTV staff striking on Cup Final day on Saturday.

Celtic play Motherwell in the final on 19 May at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Our members’ concerns haven’t gone away.”

He claims CCTV staff are “overstretched” following acceptance of 17 applications for voluntary redundancy from 22 specialist staff.

He also criticised plans to imposenewcompulsorynight shifts on these staff.

“However, we are very conscious of the threat to public safety that calling CCTV staff out on strike on the day of the Scottish Cup Final creates,” he said. “Our members work closely with the British Transport Police to ensure the safety of our travelling public every day of the year and we don’t want to compromise this on the Cup Final day.”

The union earlier called off a strike planned for 5 May following a new offer by Scotrail to allow for further talks.

Scotrail has said its priority is the safety of employees and passengers, and claims its proposals will improve safety and enhance customer information.