SCOTRAIL ticket examiners have voted for industrial action in what union leaders say is a "growing fight for workplace justice".
Rail union RMT has confirmed that ticket examiners on Abellio ScotRail have voted overwhelmingly for action in what it called a "dispute around equality and justice over enhanced payments for rest day working".
The vote means that the ticket examiners now join their conductor colleagues in "the fight for workplace justice and fairness".
ScotRail said it was a "disappointing" decision and attacked the "reckless" actions of RMT bosses at a time when "we need everyone to work together to rebuild and create a more sustainable railway for the future".
Of the 405 that were eligible to vote, 283 responded. Some 84% (238) of those who responded said they were prepared to take strike action in the ballot. A further 16 of those balloted said they were willing to take industrial action short of a strike.
The ballot result will now be considered by RMT's executive who will decide the next steps in the dispute.
READ MORE: 'Disgraceful mudslinging': Unions and ScotRail go to war over social media 'slander'
RMT general secretary, Mick Cash said: "Our ticket examiners have now joined our conductor members in this fight for equality with other ScotRail grades over enhanced payments and it’s now time for Abellio to get out of their bunker and do the right thing by their staff.
“The political leadership in Scotland can no longer sit on the fence and ignore these disputes in their back yard. It's time for serious talks, a serious approach to workplace fairness and justice and a serious solution to be reached."
Conductors continued with the latest stage of its planned industrial action on Easter Sunday.
The union said that the dispute comes despite the fact that it is front-line workers who have kept trains running at "huge personal risk" while ScotRail bosses have been able to "retreat to a place of safety".
ScotRail already faces more general strike action over a “slap in the face” pay deal while the cost of Scotland’s railways to the taxpayer is set to soar by over £1 billion over two years due to Covid-19 emergency funding.
The main ScotRail unions including Unite, ASLEF, RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association have been consulting with hundreds of workers over that action.
And Unite has criticised a “scandalous” failure to support staff while awarding Dutch state-owned transport firm Abellio which runs ScotRail the emergency Covid payments.
The union has criticised ScotRail management for what it called a "despicable" social media campaign over the conductors' strike.
Union leaders are furious at official tweets and statements that warn that the strike "will impact on key workers making essential journeys". It was retweeted by ScotRail managing director Alex Hynes.
Another criticised the workers for striking while "facing the biggest financial crisis in our history".
ScotRail expressed its disappointment at the vote come "despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the most serious financial crisis in the railway’s history".
It said that union bosses balloted their ticket examiner members for strike action in an attempt to "force an increase in overtime payments"
ScotRail said it will await further information from the RMT about the outcome of the action and the impact this will have on train services.
The train operator said it will "seek to minimise any impact on key workers reliant on rail services where possible, but warned some services may have to be cancelled".
It said that passenger numbers and revenue remain more than 90 per cent down compared to before the pandemic.
"Coronavirus restrictions, including the instruction for people to work from home, have resulted in the number of people travelling with ScotRail to plummet," it said.
"Thanks to emergency Scottish Government support worth over £400million since March 2020, ScotRail hasn’t cut any permanent jobs, reduced wages, cut terms and conditions, used furlough, or cut any employee benefits. A further agreement has been reached with the Scottish Government to run until September 2021, which will be vital in providing the platform upon which the railway can recover.
"Despite this, union bosses ploughed ahead with a ballot of ticket examiners for strike action. ScotRail said the result will have no impact on its position on overtime pay increases, given the severe financial challenges it faces."
Phil Campbell, ScotRail head of customer operations,added: “I’m disappointed the RMT’s ticket examiner members have voted for strike action when we are in the midst of the pandemic.
“When we are on the cusp of safely welcoming customers back onto Scotland’s Railway as lockdown restrictions ease, strike action over increased overtime payments is completely wrong for staff and customers.
“We will do everything we can to minimise the impact on customers, particularly those key workers who are reliant on our services, but services may have to be cancelled.
“ScotRail is currently facing the most significant crisis in its history. At a time when we need everyone to work together to rebuild and create a more sustainable railway for the future, the actions of the RMT bosses are reckless.”
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