Ross Hunter
Tue, 20 August 2024
ScotRail workers could be set for strike action next month
Tue, 20 August 2024
ScotRail workers could be set for strike action next month
THE Scottish Government’s negotiations with trade unions over the summer have managed to avert some of the most high-profile strikes scheduled to hit Scotland.
Fears of another Edinburgh Festival Fringe characterised by garbage building up on the streets came to nothing after ministers found extra funding for councils (although workers have yet to accept the revised pay offer).
Strikes by college lecturers were also called off this week following talks with ministers about securing an improved pay deal.
Yet some strike action is still currently set to occur in Scotland, with some relying upon negotiations with the UK rather than the Scottish Government.
LNER
The LNER route from Edinburgh to London is a key service between the two capitals.
However, Aslef union members employed by LNER are due to strike every weekend from the end of August until mid-November in a long-running dispute over working conditions.
It comes despite UK Government Transport Secretary Louise Haigh declaring an “end” to the industrial dispute with train drivers, which has resulted in 18 days of strike action across numerous services over the past two years.
Currently, a total of 22 days of strike action by LNER drivers remain on the cards with the Edinburgh to London service expected to face severe disruption.
ScotRail
A strike ballot of ScotRail workers closed on Tuesday (August 20), with industrial expected to occur in early September if union members vote in favour.
Unions are demanding an improved pay-offer for workers on the publicly owned railway, with the current verbal offer of a 2% pay increase backdated to April and a further 1% in January 2025 being described by Unite as not “credible”.
READ MORE: ScotRail fares set for price hike as discount scheme scrapped
It comes after a temporary, slimmed-down timetable was introduced due to an ongoing pay dispute with train drivers.
While ScotRail is currently seeking to recruit new drivers, normal timetables rely upon some existing employees working overtime and on rest days to ensure full delivery.
The temporary timetable was introduced in a bid to provide more “certainty” to customers however strike action could mean even fewer services running next month.
Edinburgh Trams
Workers on the Edinburgh Trams backed strike action last week due to health concerns, including a “lack of toilet breaks”.
Unite, which represents 160 tram workers, said more than 91% of workers balloted supported strike action, which could take place within a matter of weeks.
Tram workers say timetable changes have left them without the opportunity to take toilet breaks
The union said that mismanagement had resulted in staff going hours without hydration or toilet breaks, leading to stress amongst workers and reports of health issues.
Edinburgh Trams said it was working with staff and Edinburgh City Council to find “a workable solution” to the issues.
Pay deal offered to NHS Scotland workers after 'months of waiting'
Fears of another Edinburgh Festival Fringe characterised by garbage building up on the streets came to nothing after ministers found extra funding for councils (although workers have yet to accept the revised pay offer).
Strikes by college lecturers were also called off this week following talks with ministers about securing an improved pay deal.
Yet some strike action is still currently set to occur in Scotland, with some relying upon negotiations with the UK rather than the Scottish Government.
LNER
The LNER route from Edinburgh to London is a key service between the two capitals.
However, Aslef union members employed by LNER are due to strike every weekend from the end of August until mid-November in a long-running dispute over working conditions.
It comes despite UK Government Transport Secretary Louise Haigh declaring an “end” to the industrial dispute with train drivers, which has resulted in 18 days of strike action across numerous services over the past two years.
Currently, a total of 22 days of strike action by LNER drivers remain on the cards with the Edinburgh to London service expected to face severe disruption.
ScotRail
A strike ballot of ScotRail workers closed on Tuesday (August 20), with industrial expected to occur in early September if union members vote in favour.
Unions are demanding an improved pay-offer for workers on the publicly owned railway, with the current verbal offer of a 2% pay increase backdated to April and a further 1% in January 2025 being described by Unite as not “credible”.
READ MORE: ScotRail fares set for price hike as discount scheme scrapped
It comes after a temporary, slimmed-down timetable was introduced due to an ongoing pay dispute with train drivers.
While ScotRail is currently seeking to recruit new drivers, normal timetables rely upon some existing employees working overtime and on rest days to ensure full delivery.
The temporary timetable was introduced in a bid to provide more “certainty” to customers however strike action could mean even fewer services running next month.
Edinburgh Trams
Workers on the Edinburgh Trams backed strike action last week due to health concerns, including a “lack of toilet breaks”.
Unite, which represents 160 tram workers, said more than 91% of workers balloted supported strike action, which could take place within a matter of weeks.
Tram workers say timetable changes have left them without the opportunity to take toilet breaks
The union said that mismanagement had resulted in staff going hours without hydration or toilet breaks, leading to stress amongst workers and reports of health issues.
Edinburgh Trams said it was working with staff and Edinburgh City Council to find “a workable solution” to the issues.
Pay deal offered to NHS Scotland workers after 'months of waiting'
Gregor Young
Tue, 20 August 2024 at 11:35 am IN THESE TIMES
Colin Poolman, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said staff were “rightly frustrated” that the Scottish Government had “kept them waiting while the cost of living has continued to increase" (Image: Canva)
THE Scottish Government has offered nurses and other NHS staff a 5.5% pay rise – although unions said it had taken “months of pressure” for ministers to put a deal on the table.
Colin Poolman, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said staff were “rightly frustrated” that the Scottish Government had “kept them waiting while the cost of living has continued to increase".
The RCN is now beginning to consider the pay offer – which is in line with that made to NHS workers in England.
The rise would be paid to NHS Scotland staff, including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others, but would not apply to doctors, whose pay is negotiated separately.
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Almost 170,000 workers across the NHS would benefit from the rise if it was accepted, the Scottish Government said, adding the deal would see more than £448 million invested over 2024-25.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Following weeks of constructive engagement with trade union representatives, I am pleased to have agreed an offer, in recognition of the Pay Review Body recommendations, that will ensure Scotland’s nurses and NHS staff have the best pay package in the UK.
“The unions will now consult their members and I hope it will be accepted.”
Gray added: “I want to express my thanks again to Scotland’s hardworking healthcare staff for their commitment and patience – they are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis.
“I am grateful for the continued efforts around the table and that the trade unions will now put this to their members.”
However, Poolman said it had “taken months of pressure from the RCN and other health trade unions” for the Scottish Government to make a pay offer.
He added: “Our pay claim, submitted in February, called for an offer that reflects increases in living costs and begins to address the historic erosion of pay.
“Our members will decide if today’s announcement is enough. That process begins with RCN Scotland board members looking at the offer in detail.”
The RCN Scotland director stressed: “Nursing staff are the ever-present, safety critical workforce across the whole of health and care.
READ MORE: ScotRail fares set for price hike as discount scheme scrapped
“Our wages do not reflect this and still won’t after today. Fair pay is vital to recruiting and retaining nursing staff, to filling the thousands of vacant nurse jobs and giving people the care they deserve.”
Unison said it too would consider the offer, although Matt McLaughlin, who leads for the union on NHS pay, said: “It’s a shame it’s taken this long for NHS staff in Scotland to receive a pay offer.
“Finally, workers will have the opportunity to decide whether to accept or reject the proposed raise, which is in line with wage lifts in many other parts of the UK.”
He added: “NHS staff were due a pay rise five months ago, and making them wait for so long is deeply unfair.
“This delay cannot be repeated at the next pay round. The Scottish Government must recognise that dithering on pay directly affects staff morale.”
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