ScotRail drivers accept deal to end long-running pay dispute

A long-running dispute at ScotRail has come to an end after train drivers accepted a pay offer.

Drivers’ union Aslef said 75% of members voted for the deal, which will provide staff with a 4.5% rise backdated to April.

ScotRail has been running a reduced timetable since July after many drivers made themselves unvailable for overtime or Sunday working.

The TSSA union, representing managerial and technical staff, also accepted the package but said a separate dispute over “on-call working” would continue.

Members of Unite and the RMT union previously voted to accept the pay offer.

Train services will not immediately return to previous levels, but ScotRail said it would update passengers “as soon as possible”.

Aslef Scotland organiser Kevin Lindsay said it was a positive result that had been achieved through members’ “resolute determination”.

“I am pleased that ScotRail and the Scottish government have shown they understand the importance of our members to Scotland’s rail service,” he said.

“Appreciating the workforce in the railways is a fundamental prerequisite if Scotland is to deliver the world-class, affordable, attractive and accessible rail services the country needs.”

The TSSA union welcomed the deal, but said its dispute over on-call working for operations managers “remains live”.

General secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said, “I urge ScotRail management to come back to the table and commit to meaningful negotiations with us so that we can find a solution that works for passengers, and our members, alike.”

ScotRail’s Service Delivery Director Mark Ilderton said all parties had worked hard to agree a pay deal that “recognises the hard work of staff, as well as providing value for money for the public finances”.

He added: “We will provide an update for customers on the timetable as soon as possible.”

The temporary timetable has seen 1,660 services operating daily from Monday to Saturday, compared with the usual level of around 2,250 – a cut of 26%.

Normal services are unlikely to reintroduced before 7 October at the earliest.

ScotRail will need to establish how many drivers can do overtime and publish revised rotas, before making the new timetable available to passengers.

The pay agreement comes just two days before the end of a ScotRail pilot scheme that scrapped peak-time train fares.

Transport Scotland said the project, which saw ticket prices subsidised by the Scottish government and standardised across the day, “did not achieve its aims” of persuading more people to swap car journeys for rail travel.

Passengers will be wondering when ScotRail will return to its normal timetable. The company moved to an emergency timetable with fewer services than usual in July because of the pay row.

Many drivers were not making themselves available for overtime and rest day working. It was linked to the pay row but was not industrial action by a union – drivers are perfectly entitled to turn down overtime.

ScotRail will be watching the situation closely over the coming days to get a sense of how many drivers are available for overtime.

It will then decide whether it can return to a normal timetable.

But if a full timetable is not in operation again soon, the company will face tough questions over its continuing dependence on overtime by drivers.