From Barry Manilow to the Royal Highland Show, a week of chaos
WORKPLACES will be hit by tens of thousands of absences and millions of pounds will be wiped from the economy after unions vowed yesterday to strike this week.
ScotRail said it will have to axe 90 per cent of services on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday after the RMT union said it was pulling out signalling staff on those days, adding that disruption could also be expected on non-strike days.
One NHS source claimed the action will ‘probably cost lives’ if already beleaguered ambulance workers cannot get to work.
The strikes will affect top events including the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh. Concerts including Barry Manilow in Glasgow on Thursday, and next weekend’s European Pipe Band Championships in Inverness, will also be hit.
Leading think-tank the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) estimates the Scottish economy will lose at least £2.5 million over the three days.
Taking its UK figures, which forecast a total estimated output loss of up to £91 million, the amount could be nearer £10 million.
A CEBR spokesman said: ‘The strike will likely see further economic disruption by causing a loss of earnings for workers and rail companies, reducing spending by those who travel by rail to shops, knock-on effects for tourism and the potential to significantly intensify existing supply chain disruptions.’ He added that 250,000 commuters, 1 per cent of the UK total, will miss work, with upwards of 20,000 of Scotland’s 2.4 million payrolled staff affected.
A senior NHS worker involved in emergency care services last week told the Health Service Journal strikes will ‘probably end up killing people’ as they will prevent ambulance staff from getting to work.
Hospitality leaders said hotels were already being hit ahead of the strikes. The Moor of Rannoch hotel in Perthshire said it had suffered ‘mass cancellations’ because of the RMT action and had ‘lost almost all bookings’ for the week.
Leon Thompson, of industry body UKHospitality Scotland, told BBC
Radio Scotland: ‘There is a lot of concern in the sector about the financial impact this is already having and will continue to have when we get to next week.’
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: ‘Even now, months on from the end of Covid restrictions, store visits are still shy of pre-Covid levels. Further disruption could deter shoppers and derail recovery.’
Scots Tory MP Andrew Bowie said: ‘In this cost of living crisis, hurting the economy and the future of the railway makes no sense.’
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch confirmed that strike action
‘Rail strike action will probably cost lives’
would go ahead. Only limited services out of Edinburgh to Bathgate and to Glasgow via Shotts and Falkirk, and from Glasgow to Hamilton and Lanark, will operate.
Commuter routes and all services in the north and south of the country will be decimated.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: ‘This strike action by RMT members of Network Rail means we will not be able to operate the majority of our services during strike action.
‘Customers should expect significant disruption, including on the days between strike action.’