ScotRail deal accepted

RMT members on ScotRail have voted by a 67.7 per cent majority to accept a new settlement on terms and conditions. The deal comprises a five per cent pay increase, plus an additional payment of £750. The minimum rate of pay has been increased to £10.50 per hour, and ScotRail has extended a no compulsory redundancies guarantee from five to six years.

The 32 per cent of RMT members who voted to reject the deal and return to strikes were right to do so. This pay increase is still well below inflation, meaning ScotRail workers' pay will fall significantly behind rising living costs. More worryingly, as we reported previously, "the deal comes with unacceptable strings. This includes unconditional acceptance of new technology ScotRail wants to introduce, including making the company mobile device and apps a mandatory part of working equipment. There's a worrying lack of clarity around what this would mean in practice, but it's likely to lead to mobile booking on and off, and potentially to the company tracking staff movements via GPS. It could also expedite ticket office closures and job cuts, as the company could argue one 'roaming' person with an iPad can now replace several people in a staffed ticket office.

"The company's offer also contains no guarantees on potential ticket office closures, which, following trends in the rest of the industry, ScotRail is sure to launch once the pay dispute is settled. Plus, the deal talks about workers needing to accept 'flexibility of rostering arrangements', language which is never good news for work/life balance."

RMT recommended that members accept the deal. Following acceptance, Mick Lynch and other union officials are highlighting the deal as an example of what could be achieved if employers "behaved reasonably", suggesting it could be a model for a settlement in the national dispute. This is a dangerous approach; unions should not readily accept offers that tie pay increases to acceptance of worse terms and conditions.