TSSA ballots ScotRail for strike action - warns of looming “Summer of discontent”

TSSA has warned of a “summer of discontent” as it ballots members in ScotRail for strike action over pay today (Tuesday).

TSSA will be balloting around 500 members working in a variety of white collar, managerial, professional and technical grades within ScotRail. 

Members have rejected a three-year pay deal offering rises below the rate of inflation and are angry that ScotRail has yet to make a “meaningful offer” to resolve their existing dispute regarding on-call working.

TSSA is also looking for an agreement from ScotRail to move towards a transparent pay structure for management grades.

TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, said, “This latest offer from ScotRail is an insult for hard-working TSSA members

“ScotRail have offered its staff 9% spread over three years, which means our members would receive a miserly 2% increase this year, well below the January RPI of 4.9%, and significantly less than the 5.5% the UK government has announced it will pay to nurses, teachers and paramedics.

“If we learned anything in the pandemic it was that rail workers are essential to Scotland’s economy and society. Their pay should reflect that.

If ScotRail want to avoid an embarrassing summer of discontent for passengers, then it needs to come back to the table with a better offer. Otherwise I have no doubt that our members will vote for strike action.”