Talks between union RMT and Network Rail are to continue ahead of the UK-wide strike taking place next week that will cancel more than 90% of ScotRail’s services.
Members of the RMT union working for Network Rail are due to strike for three days week.
ScotRail’s services will be badly effected by this and the operator has announced it will only be able to run five routes in the Central Belt – with no trains at all due to serve Aberdeen or Inverness.
⚠️ Due to strike action by RMT members of Network Rail on 21, 23, and 25 June, we're warning customers to expect several days of significant disruption. To help with your questions on pre-booked journeys, refunds & service information, visit our website. Click to view it.
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) June 16, 2022
Will leave people in Scotland ‘very hard hit’
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Simon Calder, travel correspondent with The Independent, said while discussions will take place he fears it will not be enough.
He said: “This is all about the guarantee the RMT union wants that there will be no detrimental changes to working practices.
“They’re also in dispute over pay and redundancies and they say that the government, or rather Network Rail, has a plan to cut thousands of jobs to make the railways unsafe.
Rail union RMT has called for a face-to-face meeting with Transport Secretary @grantshapps and Chancellor @RishiSunak to avert strike action on the rail network next week#RailStrikeshttps://t.co/F9ke3J75Vq pic.twitter.com/stSeDHXsDW
— RMT (@RMTunion) June 15, 2022
“And even though the newly nationalised ScotRail isn’t involved, Scotland’s rail system, the infrastructure, is run by Network Rail Scotland and the signallers and maintenance staff will be walking out.”
All the services in the north and north-east will be closed leaving people who rely on trains for work or even tourists “very hard hit”.
Mr Calder added the strike planned for the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week was aimed to have maximum impact and will effectively cancel services for the whole week.
‘I fear it will be going ahead’
Also speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Gordon Martin of RMT accused the UK Treasury of orchestrating a “political attack on the railway”.
He also said the government was “importing real danger into the railway” due to unfilled safety roles across the network.
In response, Nick King from Network Rail said: “It’s not about politics and it’s not about safety.
“Everyone who works on the railway, no matter their role, is committed to running a safe service for customers and that’s not something we want to change.
“This is principally a dispute about pay and around terms and conditions and working practices.”
Mr King noted railways in the UK are subsidised by taxpayers and due to the fall in revenue over the past two years they are keen to make savings whilst modernising the network.
He also challenged Mr Martin’s position on safety, clarifying that nothing Network Rail want to change will affect safety standards.
‘We really need to see movement in these talks today’
Network Rail is limited by the public sector pay cap of 2% on what they can offer in terms of a pay increase to union members.
When asked about why no trains would be running north of the Central Belt, Mr King said: “We do understand just how disruptive this is going to be for customers.
“We are essentially concentrating our resources in areas where we have staff who are able to work the signalling systems and where we see key passenger flows between our major cities and across the border.”
Signallers are needed to operate the network safely and there are not enough signallers that are fully trained on certain systems.
Mr King added: “The closer we get to the strike days the more difficult it becomes to unpick the plans that have been made to reinstate train services because you then have to redo everyone’s rotas across 14 different companies.
“We really need to see movement in these talks today, try and make progress and to avert the strike.”