3 February 2005

SPT goes to conciliation service over Subway strike

Strathclyde Passenger Transport has asked the Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service (ACAS) to step in to help settle the ongoing dispute with members of the Transport & General Workers Union, in a bid to avert the Subway strike expected on Monday 7 February.

SPT negotiators are pleased that union officials have accepted the offer of conciliation after they rejected informal attempts to settle the dispute, over pay and holidays, on Tuesday 1 February.

Douglas Ferguson, SPT's Director of Operations, said, "Last Monday (31 January) over 40,000 passengers faced major disruption and we want to avoid that happening again if we can. We are going to ACAS tomorrow morning (11am on Friday 4 February) with a positive attitude. We hope that the TGWU will also approach these talks with an open mind.

"Our passengers have suffered from this dispute and the TGWU's members have suffered. Every day of industrial action loses them money. If the dispute isn't settled, and all the threatened strikes go ahead, staff will have lost virtually all the pay settlement for this year through their own actions."

If the strike does go ahead on Monday SPT will do all it can to minimise disruption by laying on alternative services. In the event of industrial action two free, replacement buses will operate every 10 minutes between 0630 and 2330hrs. One will be direct between Shields Road Station and St Enoch. The St Enoch destination is the First Bus No 38 terminal in Jamaica Street. The second will operate between Govan and Partick Stations.

SPT is also hoping to operate an 18-minute shuttle service between Hillhead and Buchanan Street between 0800 and 1000 and 1730 and 2000hrs.

First ScotRail is also accepting valid Subway multi-journey and season tickets between Queen Street Station and Partick.

ends

Notes to editors

The pay offer is for 2.95% from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 and a further 2.95% from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006. Some 160,000 local authority staff have accepted the pay offer.

Including overtime and shift allowances but not the 2004/05 increase, average earnings are:

• Subway train drivers £18,718.
• Station Masters £18,268.
• Station Assistants £14,756.
• Permanent Way staff £22,155.

Subway drivers operate largely automatic trains over a 10km circular route