Fort William sleeper train staff join strike over carriage defects
FORT William employees of the Caledonian Sleeper joined fellow staff from all over Scotland in industrial action.
The small group made their voices heard at the town’s train station as part of a 48hour strike in a dispute with operator Serco over defects on carriages after talks held at conciliation service ACAS failed to resolve the issue.
Employees on the picket line on December 22 said they are ‘embarrassed’ at the service they provided customers, who can pay more than £200 for a ticket, as trains often had no heating, hot water, inoperable toilets and broken lights.
Serco stated all problems had either been resolved or were in the process of being repaired.
The five members of staff at the Fort William picket asked not to be named.
One said: ‘Sometimes we can’t give the guests a hot drink with their breakfast in the morning or can’t even give them a hot breakfast. Other times we can give them a hot drink and they have to use it to warm themselves up because the heating is broken and the carriages are freezing. Then we have to tell them there’s no hot water to wash their faces.’
Another added: ‘It’s embarrassing having to treat guests like that, especially when they have paid for a good service and are excited about the journey. We want them to enjoy the trip and do our job the best we can but we end up having to take all the stick because things aren’t working.
‘We don’t blame the customers for being angry about it. If you paid for a stay in a hotel then arrived to be told there’s no heating or hot water and you can’t have a cooked breakfast you wouldn’t be happy. It’s the same thing.’
The industrial action came after members of the RMT union voted to back the 48hour strikes over December 22 and 23, meaning the last sleeper services before Christmas had to be cancelled and passengers were refunded. Strikes also took place in Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London.
Peter Strachan, managing director Caledonian Sleeper, called the strike ‘entirely unnecessary’ and apologised to customers affected.
He said: ‘ We attended further talks at ACAS on Monday with every intention of working with the RMT to resolve this dispute. I am therefore extremely disappointed that we have not been able to do so given the many and varied issues that they have raised have either been resolved or are in the process of being resolved through a robust and detailed repair and maintenance plan. The RMT has chosen to press ahead with this industrial action just before Christmas and during one of the busiest times of the year. I am particularly sorry for our guests who will now be significantly inconvenienced by this entirely unnecessary 48-hour strike. The Caledonian Sleeper team has already contacted almost 95 per cent of our guests who were due to travel to offer full refunds or re-bookings and we would urge anyone we have not yet spoken to, to please contact us.’