A train divers union has announced ScotRail members will be balloted next month.

ASLEF's Executive Committee has today agreed to ballot its ScotRail members for action short of strike and strike action. 

The ballot will close on the 29th August.

ASLEF Scottish Organiser, Kevin Lindsay, said:" This ballot has come about because of ScotRail and the Scottish Government's failure to come up with a serious and credible offer to our members.

"It is a mess of their own making. We urge them to think again, treat our members with the fairness and respect they deserve, and make an offer to them that is credible and serious."

The announcement comes amidst a series of service cuts in the country, as ASLEF members work their contracted hours with no overtime. 

The union recently rejected a pay offer from the operator. The deal, which was also rejected by Unite, the RMT and TSSA would have covered the next three years to April 2027 and involved a 2% pay rise each April and 1% the following January.

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To operate a normal timetable, ScotRail requires rest day working and overtime and as a result has introduced a temporary reduced timetable.

Earlier this month ASLEF criticised ScotRail and the Scottish Government for not being realistic about public sector pay, and not employing enough staff. 

Kevin Lindsay previously told The Herald: ‘The Scottish government should have seen these issues coming a mile down the tracks. It’s clear no lessons have been learned from the past. They have left Scotland’s railway workforce understaffed and overstretched. 

"Goodwill from Scotland’s train drivers can only take you so far but you can’t run a safe and efficient railway seven days a week if you don't employ appropriate numbers of staff and provide them with decent pay, terms and conditions.  

"The Scottish government is the sole shareholder of ScotRail yet have completely failed to address the driver shortage. 

"This is a crisis entirely of their own making, and ultimately, passengers will be the ones who suffer."

The rail operator was also blasted for announcing extra train services to Troon for The Open golf despite its temporary timetable. It comes a day after they had no services running at the end of TRNSMT festival in Glasgow Green which saw 50,000 people attending on Sunday 14 July. 

Approached by The Herald last week, the national rail operator was unable to say whether planned extra services for the event at Royal Troon would go ahead but announced on Monday that it would have extra capacity.

The union said ScotRail had cut services too much, and accused it of prioritising golf over "bread and butter" trains.

ScotRail said it previously met with Aslef officials on Friday July 5, where it made an offer of 9.3% over three years, which all rail trade unions rejected.

Speaking on the news of Aslef's decision to ballot members, ScotRail's service delivery director, Mark Ilderton, said: “We’re disappointed that Aslef is balloting its members for industrial action following the recent pay offer and we encourage members to vote to reject it.

“We recognise the hard work of our colleagues and the offer made to our staff recognises the cost-of-living challenges faced by families across the country and hope that we can come to an agreement on pay which reflects this, as well as delivering value for money for the taxpayer.

“We want to resolve this matter with trade unions and remain fully committed to further discussions.”

Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government’s national transport agency, said it acknowledged the unions’ negotiations, and asked unions to continue speaking with ScotRail on an agreed outcome.