Signalmen get back to work

Oct 10 2008 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

RAIL services from Perth got back on track yesterday after striking signalling staff returned to work after a nationwide dispute this week.

A second bout of industrial action had been scheduled for lunchtime yesterday, following on from Tuesday’s 24-hour walk out which threw train timetables into chaos.

Hundreds of journeys were cancelled during the first strike, with few services reaching Perth and none provided north of the Fair City.

Yesterday’s proposed walkout was suspended after a nine-hour meeting between Network Rail, the conciliation body ACAS and the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) in Glasgow on Wednesday.

As the PA went to press, the RMT said progress had been made and it would consider a full report before making a statement later in the week.

The pair were at loggerheads over staff rosters for the 450 signalling workers who downed tools during the industrial action. Safety assessments and transfers also came under the microscope.

The RMT insists employers have failed to move on its demand to stop last-minute changes to rotas.

Network Rail countered the claims by saying it had made concessions on that issue but safety assessments remained the sticking point.

They said the union wanted to make safety assessments voluntary, something that was described as “bogus” by the RMT.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “This dispute is all about our ability to continue to provide a safe railway.

“We are pleased that strike action has been suspended and will continue to seek a negotiated resolution to this dispute.

“We will now work to restore train services to the travelling public as quickly as we can,” she said.