ScotRail Industrial Relations issues (including conductor strike action)

[LoogaBarooga]

‎
RMT confirms strike action in pay disputes on Scotrail and Caledonian Sleeper during COP26

Rail union RMT today confirmed strike action on both Scotrail and Caledonian Sleeper during COP26 in fights for pay justice for Scotland's rail workers - staff at the sharp end of providing green transport alternatives.

Scotrail staff will take the following strike action;‎

0001 hours Monday 1st November 2021 until 2359 hours Friday 12th November 2021.

Sleeper staff will take the following strike action;‎

Sunday 31st October 2021 from 1159 hours until 1158 hours on Tuesday 2nd November
2021

Thursday 11th November 2021 from 1159 hours until 1158 hours on Saturday 13thNovember 2021

General Secretary Mick Lynch said;

"Both Scotrail and the Caledonian Sleeper have had adequate time to come up with a fair pay settlement for Scotland's rail workers in advance of COP26. Instead they have kicked the can down the road and left us with no option but to put this action on today.

"We know that these strikes will close rail services in Scotland but the blame for that lies with Abellio, SERCO and the political leadership at Holyrood.

"It's time for all parties to take their rail workers seriously, get back round the table and give these staff at the front line of our green transport services the justice, respect and reward they deserve. "

 

[seagull]

It's a pity that over 1000 of the 2400 entitled to vote didn't: seems a waste to pay Union dues each month and then not use the vote, whether for or against action.

 

[Scotrail314209]

This is getting an absolute joke now, I’m not speaking as an enthusiast but as someone who uses the trains on a regular basis.

I really don’t understand why they are striking, why can they not do the job they applied for with the salary they accepted going into the job?

Now they are going to make the country look like an absolute embarrassment during COP26, not to mention inconvenience thousands of people.

If they really think that the strikes are going to get the public in their corner, they think wrong.

 

[dk1]

It's a pity that over 1000 of the 2400 entitled to vote didn't: seems a waste to pay Union dues each month and then not use the vote, whether for or against action.

Something I have never got my head around.

 

[PaulMc7]

This is getting an absolute joke now, I’m not speaking as an enthusiast but as someone who uses the trains on a regular basis.

I really don’t understand why they are striking, why can they not do the job they applied for with the salary they accepted going into the job?

Now they are going to make the country look like an absolute embarrassment during COP26, not to mention inconvenience thousands of people.

If they really think that the strikes are going to get the public in their corner, they think wrong.

Abellio will get all of the blame from the public to be honest. The union and government have got away from most of the anger from what I've seen since the beginning. I'm perfectly okay with striking but not during Covid and certainly not during a time where it'll be hard enough to get around

 

[ComUtoR]

I really don’t understand why they are striking, why can they not do the job they applied for with the salary they accepted going into the job?

Now they are going to make the country look like an absolute embarrassment during COP26, not to mention inconvenience thousands of people.

Who are "they". This entire debacle could be ended with a swish of a pen.

It is the TOCs responsibility to run the service. They should be held accountable. If "they" are treating their staff badly, have poor industrial relations; they should be held accountable.

If they really think that the strikes are going to get the public in their corner, they think wrong.

Not sure the public are even a consideration. This is Company/Staff. The public are collateral damage and always have been. Neither side are thinking about "the public".

 

[maradona10]

This is getting an absolute joke now, I’m not speaking as an enthusiast but as someone who uses the trains on a regular basis.

I really don’t understand why they are striking, why can they not do the job they applied for with the salary they accepted going into the job?

Now they are going to make the country look like an absolute embarrassment during COP26, not to mention inconvenience thousands of people.

If they really think that the strikes are going to get the public in their corner, they think wrong.

Striking for equality in the work place and half decent pay rise. The country is already an embarassment or haven't you noticed.

It's great to see another yet another person on here without a shred of empathy for workers, though. Fantastic.

 

[ld0595]

Wow, I didn't realise it was for the entirety of COP26. If this doesn't resolve the pay dispute then nothing will any time soon.

 

[Tw99]

I imagine it suits the Westminster government very well to have a potential PR disaster like this under the responsibility of the Scottish government.

 

[Starmill]

Now they are going to make the country look like an absolute embarrassment during COP26, not to mention inconvenience thousands of people.

To be fair, Scotland and the rest of the UK are destined to be shown up as failures by the climate summit regardless of how well the train service runs, because we're doing so appallingly badly at tackling the issue. Not having any trains running for it probably doesn't really make much difference at that level.

I imagine it suits the Westminster government very well to have a potential PR disaster like this under the responsibility of the Scottish government.

They won't need to wait long until this kind of action takes place on a DfT controlled operator.

 

[John Bishop]

So to clarify- a 12 day continuous strike by conductors?

 

[Devon Sunset]

So to clarify- a 12 day continuous strike by conductors?

All RMT members regardless of grade (excluding drivers).

 

[380101]

So to clarify- a 12 day continuous strike by conductors?

Yes. Conductors and Ticket Examiners plan to strike for 12 days from 1st November.

 

[Starmill]

All RMT members regardless of grade (excluding drivers).

Does that group include station staff too, in general?

 

[alangla]

Something I have never got my head around.

Since the law on strike ballots changed you can effectively cast a tactical non-vote.
AIUI, the RMT would need a 40% turnout (966 ballots if I’ve calculated right) for a strike to be lawful, so if, for example, you’re against action & reckon 950 or so people will cast a vote then not voting (and thus making the ballot result irrelevant as action would be illegal) would be more effective than voting against, helping the ballot over the 40% mark and legalising the action.
In saying that, the vast majority of the non-votes in most ballots will be can’t-be-bothereds rather than tactical non-voters.

 

[LoogaBarooga]

Does that group include station staff too, in general?

Yes

 

[Horizon22]

On the other hand, if the management know that they can productively use 'spare' conductors, it could encourage them to employ more of them.

I’d imagine a major downside is that management come to rely on spare conductors manning the gates and start to not replace vacant jobs within gate line.

Station management and guards management are normally quite separate and therefore I don’t actually foresee that having an impact. They’ve both got staffing targets to meet which don’t really overlap.

 

[Berliner]

Striking for equality in the work place and half decent pay rise. The country is already an embarassment or haven't you noticed.

It's great to see another yet another person on here without a shred of empathy for workers, though. Fantastic.

The UK has a serious issue when striking workers are blamed and the companies are given sympathy. This time last year key workers (which includes railway workers as per the government definition) were being celebrated everywhere, now they are being told, by some, to shut up and accept whatever they are given.

 

[Horizon22]

The UK has a serious issue when striking workers are blamed and the companies are given sympathy. This time last year key workers (which includes railway workers as per the government definition) were being celebrated everywhere, now they are being told, by some, to shut up and accept whatever they are given.

As a rail worker myself, what makes the railway any different from the countless other industries that had to work solidly through and are getting 0.0% pay rises? Yes it’s frustrating but there’s literally a severance scheme starting which should give you some idea of the current financial state of the industry.

Honestly I think the optics are terrible - especially given the fact a not insubstantial pay rise was actually given.

 

[PaulMc7]

As a rail worker, what makes the railway any different from the countless other industries that had to work solidly through and are getting 0.0% pay rises?

Honestly I think the optics are terrible - especially given the fact a not insubstantial pay rise was actually given.

This is my issue with it from the outside to be honest. Covid was always going to be an idiotic time to strike especially considering it's far from the worst paid job out there plus Abellio going in March and a government who obviously wouldn't want to significantly increase expenditure going beyond March.

 

[6Z09]

This is getting an absolute joke now, I’m not speaking as an enthusiast but as someone who uses the trains on a regular basis.

I really don’t understand why they are striking, why can they not do the job they applied for with the salary they accepted going into the job?

Now they are going to make the country look like an absolute embarrassment during COP26, not to mention inconvenience thousands of people.

If they really think that the strikes are going to get the public in their corner, they think wrong.

An absolute joke is it?
Standing up for long fought for terms and conditions, what about a company that continually kicks the Sunday rostering can down the Road?
What about a company whose senior managemen all accepted bonuses, but impose a pay freeze on workers?
Suppose you think that is all hunky dory do you?

 

[the sniper]

I really don’t understand why they are striking, why can they not do the job they applied for with the salary they accepted going into the job?

If you think about it, I'm not sure that you'd actually believe that makes sense.

 

[Starmill]

The UK has a serious issue when striking workers are blamed and the companies are given sympathy.

I don't think it ever really happens though does it? Public sector workers like teachers, council workers, and civil servants often receive low levels of public support when they're involved in an industrial dispute. Workers places like Amazon, McDonald's, Uber or Wetherspoon generally do receive a modicum of public support.

It's just that passenger railway workers are in reality part of the former group, not the latter.

This is my issue with it from the outside to be honest. Covid was always going to be an idiotic time to strike especially considering it's far from the worst paid job out there plus Abellio going in March and a government who obviously wouldn't want to significantly increase expenditure going beyond March.

I've said it once, I'll say it again. If it were up to me I'd simply spend the money, borrowing it if necessary, and working out for the long term how to raise it. But that would be an astonishing amount of new spending, running perhaps to hundreds of billions. It would need to be public sector wide.

 

[maradona10]

I speak to passengers daily and a lot of them have sympathy for Union members in this dispute, the landscape is perhaps different in Scotland to some other places in the UK and the region I work is of a certain political mindset. Or maybe they're just being polite. You'll always find the 'sack them all' brigade talking mince but there doesn't seem to be animosity from the punters I speak to.

 

[haggishunter]

This now smacks of a political strike against an independence supporting Scottish Government and an attempt to humiliate Scotland on the world stage.

It feels this is now significantly beyond an industrial dispute and from a few peoples comments who’d usually be instinctively supportive, this evening suggest the RMT has unloaded both barrels into both feet.

 

[PaulMc7]

I speak to passengers daily and a lot of them have sympathy for Union members in this dispute, the landscape is perhaps different in Scotland to some other places in the UK and the region I work is of a certain political mindset. Or maybe they're just being polite. You'll always find the 'sack them all' brigade talking mince but there doesn't seem to be animosity from the punters I speak to.

We are a country where pretty much anyone who criticises the government gets swarmed on by ultra defenders of them and I say that as an SNP voter so it's not a surprise in that sense. The reality is they're not great but the alternative is far worse hence why the deflection from most of them is "but Boris" etc

 

[snookertam]

Just out of interest, what do we reckon would it take for the strike action to be called off? What sort of offer would need to be on the table?

This now smacks of a political strike against an independence supporting Scottish Government and an attempt to humiliate Scotland on the world stage.

It feels this is now significantly beyond an industrial dispute and from a few peoples comments who’d usually be instinctively supportive, this evening suggest the RMT has unloaded both barrels into both feet.

This is a dreadful take and one which supporters of certain political parties opt for whenever they want to discredit those taking strike action.

I doubt the 1000 or so conductors voting for strike action are thinking much further than their own pay and conditions, and if they are thinking any further than that it’ll be a response to poor relations with management at ScotRail. The idea that railway workers are voting for strike action for political reasons, especially down to the constitution, is for the birds.

I believe the RMT actually supported a ‘yes’ vote in 2014 as well.

 

[LoogaBarooga]

Just out of interest, what do we reckon would it take for the strike action to be called off? What sort of offer would need to be on the table?

I think a reintroduction of the rdw enhancement. That's what the strike is all about after all.

 

[Scotrail12]

12 DAYS?

I don't drive, I cannot get around anywhere without public transport, this absolutely ruins those 2 weeks for me.

 

[Darandio]

If the situation is so fractured and people are supposed to be taking a stand then why did over 1000 not even bother to vote?