ScotRail engineers vote for strike action after pay talks collapse
- Published
The industrial action is expected to begin from the middle of September
ScotRail engineers have voted for industrial action after pay talks with management collapsed.
About 250 workers, who maintain and repair ScotRail trains, backed strike action and other measures.
The rail operator has already cancelled a series of services following a six-month-long pay dispute with train conductors.
ScotRail said passenger numbers and its income have plummeted due to the pandemic.
The Unite union said industrial action is likely to take place from the middle of September.
It said operator Abellio ScotRail had rejected a number of demands, including a "substantial" pay increase, greater flexibility of holidays, and no compulsory redundancies.
The ballot returned a vote of 78% in favour of strike action from a 68.4% turnout.
Performance criticism
Pat McIlvogue, Unite industrial officer, said: "Unite's members have had their terms and conditions cut, while Abellio also refuse to offer a decent pay rise. The ballot result is the inevitable outcome when workers are treated with no respect."
The Dutch-owned company, which runs the Scotland rail franchise, posted a pre-tax loss of £64.5m in the 12 months to 31 March 2020.
In December 2019, Abellio was stripped of the contract to run ScotRail services by the Scottish government amid criticism of performance levels.
The Scottish government announced in April that the franchise would be taken over by a public sector body from the end of March next year.
A ScotRail spokesperson said: "It's extremely disappointing that the engineering members of Unite have voted for this highly damaging strike action.
"Although we are starting to see customers gradually returning to Scotland's Railway, our financial position is precarious and strike action is wrong at a time when we need to deliver a safe and reliable service."