Rail workers in strike threat over ‘bullying’

DOZENS of workers at a major rail freight firm are poised to strike over allegations of assault and bullying against staff.

Members to the RMT union say they have had enough of bullying and harassment at Freightliner Ltd’s Coatbridge hub, and have voted to strike.

It comes amid claims one of the union’s members was assaulted by a senior member of staff earlier this year.

A disciplinary process is un- derstood to be ongoing.

This is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’, according to employees, who are demanding management take action.

The terminal at Coatbridge manages shipments of freight by rail all across the country.

Mick Hogg, RMT’s regional organiser for Scotland, said the firm had a “culture of bullying and harassment” and his members are not willing to accept it any longer.

He said: “This has been going on for a period of years.

“A recent incident involved one of our members being assaulted. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“As far as RMT is concerned, we have a zero-tolerance approach to any more of bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Around 50 members, from all parts of the the Freightliner business in Coatbridge, are under- stood to be primed to strike if an agreement cannot be reached on how to tackle the issues.

Representatives from the trade union will meet with company bosses at their London HQ tomorrow for crisis talks.

A company spokeswoman said: “The company and the RMT union have agreed to sit down later this week in order to find a solution to any outstanding concerns and to reach an outcome that resolves these.”