Exclusive:New ScotRail strike threat after drivers reject pay offer

Train drivers at ScotRail have threatened to ballot for fresh industrial action unless a pay offer is improved, The Scotsman has learned.

Aslef, which represents almost all of the 1,300 drivers at the Scottish Government-owned train operator, called for a better deal after rejecting a six per cent increase over three years.

Kevin Lindsay, its Scotland district secretary, said a ballot would be called if the offer was not upped when pay talks are due to resume at the end of next week.

The threat is understood to follow increasing impatience by drivers that no offer had been made before the talks last Friday - two and a half months after the start of the financial year.

However, there is also a risk of more immediate disruption to trains if drivers decide to no longer volunteer for overtime, on which ScotRail still depends to run some of its services - as happened two years ago.

By Sunday night, ScotRail had cancelled 25 trains for Monday “due to a shortage of train crew”, although ScotRail said this “more challenging than usual situation” was due to staff watching the Scotland Euros game.

The total had increased to nearly 40 by Monday morning, with services affected including on the Edinburgh to Dunblane, Dundee, Fife Circle, Glasgow, North Berwick and Tweedbank lines.

Then on Monday night, ScotRail announced a further 60 cancellations or truncated services on Tuesday because of a train crew “shortage”.

One source close to the rail industry told The Scotsman: “There is dissatisfaction bubbling in certain depots.”

However, Mr Lindsay said he was “not aware of drivers refusing to cooperate at any depot”.

ScotRail trains were severely disrupted in the last drivers’ dispute in 2022. (Photo by John Devlin/The Scotsman) | John Devlin

Mr Lindsay said the offer rejected at the talks comprised a 2 per cent increase backdated to April this year, followed by a 1 per cent increase in January next year, a further 2 per cent in April and another 1 per cent in January 2026.

Maternity pay would also be increased to 13 weeks’ average pay, 13 weeks’ full pay and 13 weeks’ half pay. Paternity pay would go up to one week average pay and three weeks’ full pay.

Mr Lindsay said: "This was rejected and we are back in on July 5. If it's not improved we will ballot industrial action."

The strike ballot threat comes two years after ScotRail passengers suffered significant and prolonged disruption in a previous pay dispute when many drivers took unofficial action by no longer volunteering for overtime.

It led to ScotRail reducing its timetable by one third - cancelling 700 trains a day for some four months - in an attempt to provide certainty to passengers.

The operator said it would take until 2027 to recruit enough drivers to no longer need such overtime cover, in which staff volunteer for “rest day working”.

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ScotRail said on Sunday it had met regularly with its unions over the past few weeks to discuss the pay offer for this year.

It described the talks with Aslef and the RMT unions last Friday as “constructive” and said a further meeting was planned for next month.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail’s service delivery director, said: “We are grateful to our trade union colleagues for their constructive approach to negotiations.

“We recognise the hard work of our colleagues and the cost-of-living challenges faced by families across the country and hope we can come to an agreement on pay which reflects this as well as delivering value for taxpayers.”

A ScotRail spokesperson added: “The majority of our depots have full coverage going into Monday morning.

“We expected Sunday into Monday to be more challenging than usual with the Scotland game and fewer drivers making themselves available to work overtime as a result (which they are fully entitled to do).”