Train drivers accept 5% rise from First ScotRail

Published on Monday 31 March 2008 22:18

TRAIN drivers and other First ScotRail staff have won a 5 per cent pay rise this year and at least 3 per cent the following year, The Scotsman has learned.

The company's 900 drivers have accepted the deal and its remaining 3,200 staff are expected to follow suit.

It will raise drivers' pay to at least 34,620 in a year's time.

The agreement, which comes into force today, will see pay increasing by 5 per cent this year.

This will be followed by a further 3 per cent rise – or the retail price index if higher – next April.

The two drivers' unions, Aslef and the RMT, have accepted the offer and other staff are being balloted.

Mary Dickson, First ScotRail's managing director, said: "Our commitment to investing in our team through pay and conditions is essential to taking the business forward and securing ongoing improvements for our customers."

Kevin Lindsay, the district organiser for Scotland for Aslef, said: "This is a reasonable settlement, but First ScotRail drivers still lag behind their intercity colleagues, and we will be looking to close that gap."