A blind woman footballer from Edinburgh was left traumatised after she feared falling in front of a speeding train when rail staff never showed up to help her.
Samantha Gough – who plays blind football for England despite being a Scot – booked assistance before starting her journey at Edinburgh Waverley, but when she got to Doncaster station en-route to a competition, no-one was there to help.
The station also did not have tactile paving – a system of textured ground surface indicators on platforms to assist the visually impaired.
Samantha, 20, from Lasswade, (pictured, in glasses) who attended the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, said: “It was a nightmare, a really horrendous situation to be in. People have died falling on the tracks before and I thought it was about to happen to me.
“I was in full panic mode and there was not one person there to help despite me booking assistance before I set out. I waited for about five minutes and then really began to panic. I had no idea how close I was to the platform edge as there was no tactile paving.
“Fast trains were screaming past with the wind hitting me and despite screaming on the platform for help, no one heard. I called my mum at home in Scotland and she had to phone the police. A few trains later, a guard got off and asked if I was ok and took me to station staff. They said my assistance request was not on the system but I had been told at Edinburgh that staff were phoning Doncaster to inform them that I was on the way.”
The news comes as train operators are preparing to cut 2,000 staff in line with plans to close almost every train station ticket office in Britain.
Rail companies have already outlined proposals to make thousands of job cuts by October – even though the UK government is yet to approve the planned ticket office closures.
Plans to close 974 out of 1,007 railway station ticket offices were first announced by industry body Railway Delivery Group in July. Scotland’s busiest station Glasgow Central, which serves 15.3 million passengers each year, could also lose its ticket office.
EDINBURGH, UK – 21st June 2022: Royal Blind School pupils and families take part in a fun filled Fiesta Day at the school. (Photograph: MAVERICK PHOTO AGENCY)
Samantha added: “I was travelling on to an event in Conisbrough. I was just left outside Doncaster station in a distressed state and had to wait for someone to come and get me from Conisbrough.
“It is a disgrace and has really knocked my confidence. It has really made me think twice about going anywhere without support.”
Samantha has been visually impaired from birth due to cerebral visual impairment (CVI) – a condition which means the eyes are healthy but the brain’s visual pathways do not work, resulting in sight loss.
She competes in a number of sports and plays for the England women’s blind football side as Scotland does not have a team in the sport.
Last year, Samantha, who is severely sight impaired, competed in the European Para Youth Games and was the only Scot representing her country at goalball. She scooped bronze with Team. The para sport consists of three players on each side of the court, with 18 metres wide goals at either end. Players use a blue ball with bells in it which is thrown by hand and never kicked.
Samantha said: “We complained about this situation and we were offered two first class tickets as compensation. But I don’t want to go near their trains after my experience so it completely misses the point.
“This is the most extreme situation I have faced on the train. Sports people need to use the rail network all the time to get to training and events. There is a real issue here about accessibility and fairness. It really is a disgrace.”
Midlothian MP Owen Thompson has written to LNER demanding action. He said: “I was extremely concerned to hear about this constituent’s traumatic experiences. It is simply unacceptable. I find it hard to comprehend how something like this can happen in this country in the 21st century.
“There is a real issue about accessibility, equality and fairness here. Blind and partially sighted people should be able to travel safely and comfortably at all times. I wrote to LNER a couple of weeks ago and have still to receive a response. I am concerned that tactile paving is not an essential at every station in the UK.
“I do not think that the Secretary of State for Transport’s statement that tactile paving will appear in all mainline railway stations in Britain by the end of 2025 at the latest is good enough. Samantha has my full support. We have already met with Samantha and her mum to hear their concerns and I will stay in touch as we battle to get this resolved.”
Craig Spalding, chief executive of Sight Scotland, said: “We’re deeply concerned at Sam’s experience and the dangerous situation she was left in.
“Being left without any assistance and on a platform with no tactile paving highlights just how inaccessible travelling can be for people with visual impairments. Sadly, train journeys like this are not uncommon for blind and partially sighted people.
“We’ve heard first hand of other cases where people have waited for assistance to arrive and nobody turn up. This has a knock-on effect on someone’s confidence to travel independently and being able to safely get from A to B.
“Urgent action is needed now to ensure all train stations have tactile paving, in person ticket booths and assistance to ensure rail travel is accessible for all.”
Unite members in Waste and Cleansing in Edinburgh will begin industrial action today over the ‘insulting’ pay offer for local government workers.
Last Friday, COSLA increased the offer from 2% to 3.5%. All three unions of the Scottish Joint Council -Unite, Unison and GMB – immediately rejected the offer.
The NHS have been offered—and look set to reject—5%, so once again local government is treated as the poor relation of the public sector. Local government workers in England have been offered a rise of £1,925.
Edinburgh is the first council to take action, with others following on the 24th.
Pickets and support
The strike takes place from 5am today to 5am on Tuesday 30 August with daily pickets at seven waste depots across the city.
UNITE will be demonstrating at the City Chambers on Thursday 18 August at 9am as part of the industrial action.
Following this, the trade union will join the RMT rally on Waverley Bridge at 10am to foster solidarity among workers and hear from Mick Lynch and Mark Thomas.
THE CITY COUNCIL HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING ADVICE:
What to do with your waste and recycling
Communal services
Collections are suspended for all communal waste and recycling bins. Please do not add to full bins. Check nearby bins instead, and when these are all full, store your waste at home, or in your back green or garden if possible. Do not leave bags next to bins unless this is unavoidable, as it can become a hazard.
Keep separating your waste and rinse pots, tubs and trays, and rinse and squash your plastic bottles and aluminium cans, so that these don’t smell while you store them. Flatten cardboard too.
Keep food waste in a sealed container, as cool as possible.
Glass bank services will continue as these are managed by an external contactor.
Kerbside services
Non recyclable waste collections (grey bins)
Suspended. Please do not put your grey bin out. Please keep your waste safe, secure and away from pavements and roads. Consider using a garage, garden or driveway and ensure strong bin bags are properly secured.
Mixed recycling collections (green bins)
Suspended. Please do not put your green bin out. Please keep your recycling clean and flattened, and stored safely.
Food waste collections
Suspended. Please do not put your food bin out. Please ensure your kerbside food waste bin is closed and secured to prevent animal access.
Glass collections (blue box)
Suspended. Please do not put your blue box out. Please rinse bottles and jars and store these at home. Please do not use on street or local bring site recycling points to dispose of your glass. We do not have the staff resources to empty these or clean up fly-tipped material.
Garden waste collections (brown bins)
Suspended. Please do not put your brown bin out. We understand the disappointment this will cause and at the moment, we cannot advise when the service will be running normally again.
We are working on how best to replace the collections affected, and will provide further information on this later.
Report a missed bin
Since normal scheduled collections are suspended, we cannot take reports of missed bins. Please do not present your bin for collection until advised to do so.
Collections of bulky waste items
Suspended. Existing bookings will be honoured where staffing allows. If you have booked a special uplift and we can’t collect it, we will let you know.
Household waste recycling centres
Closed. It will not be possible to book an appointment, and all existing bookings will be contacted by email to cancel.
Request and replacing bins and boxes
Repair and replacement of bins and boxes are suspended. Uplifts of any unwanted waste containers is also suspended.
Litter/ dogs bins and street cleansing
Please also note there will be no street cleansing activities including street sweeping and litter bin emptying. Please either use a bin that’s not full or take it home and double bag it to reduce smells.
Waste reporting and enquires
We have removed all online reporting for waste and cleansing as we are unable to carry out these services during the industrial action.
If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard, please phone and listen to the new options carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100, from Monday -Thursday 1000-1600 and Friday 1000-1500. After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.
You can also email waste@edinburgh.gov.uk with the specific location and details of the issue.
Please be mindful that staff working will be very busy and are all doing their best to deal with a lot of issues at this time.
Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said: “Today (27 July 2022), union bosses are once again trying to cause as much disruption as possible to the day-to-day lives of millions of hardworking people around the country.
“What’s more, it has been cynically timed to disrupt the start of the Commonwealth Games and crucial Euro 2022 semi-finals, in a deliberate bid to impact the travel of thousands trying to attend events the whole country is looking forward to.
“Sadly, this is nothing new. In fact, in my 3 years as Transport Secretary, there has not been a single day when unions have not been in dispute with the rail industry by either threatening or taking industrial action with around 60 separate disputes lodged in 2022 alone.
“This country’s taxpayers stumped up £600 per household to ensure not a single rail worker lost their job during the pandemic, but many of those very same people will be forced into losing a day’s wages through no fault of their own but because of stubborn union leaders’ refusals to modernise.
“Union bosses will claim they’re willing to do a deal but how can anyone take them seriously when, earlier this month, the RMT dismissed a Network Rail offer worth 8% over the next 2 years without even consulting their members.
“Unfortunately, it’s too late to call off today’s damaging strikes but I urge the RMT and indeed all unions to stop holding the country to ransom with the threat of further industrial action and get off picket lines and back around the negotiating table. If not, we risk passengers turning their backs on the railway for good.”
RMT Press Office issued the following statement yesterday:
There are reports based on anonymous briefings from the rail industry to the right-wing media that are wholly inaccurate regarding negotiations in this dispute.
The last offer we had from Network Rail was rejected by our National Executive Committee on 13 July. There has been no new offer since from Network Rail.
Claims about the “sentiment” expressed by Eddie Dempsey and relayed by anonymous industry sources to the Daily Telegraph are factually wrong.
We were optimistic about making enough progress to suspend strike action. That is how we always approach negotiations because RMT is serious about getting a negotiated settlement.
However, that evaporated when Network Rail hardened their position on attacking our members conditions of work and even threatening to put compulsory redundancies back on the table.
Anonymous rail industry sources are attempting to drive a wedge between striking members and our NEC which will fail.
Threatening us as they did with punishing our members with compulsory redundancies and 50% cuts in maintenance schedules is a poor negotiating tactic and will lead to extending the time it takes to reach a deal.
The RMT has not anonymously briefed the media at any point during this dispute or gone into great detail regarding the ins and outs of negotiations that are behind closed doors.
That is because we feel that would be an act of bad faith and the public are more interested in the substantive issues and whether we can reach a settlement.
Our strike action remains on tomorrow (Wednesday) and we will continue to work to get job security, a decent pay rise and good working conditions for our members in Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies.
A meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) has been told of the impact of UK-wide rail strikes on Scotland.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney was joined by Ministers including Transport Secretary Michael Matheson and Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth to hear of the latest situation.
The Transport Minister yesterday wrote to the UK Government calling for a swift resolution to the dispute.
Tuesday marked the first of three days of strike action this week, with more planned for Thursday and Saturday with the possibility of further action over the summer. Due to shift patterns the entire week is being disrupted, rather than just the three selected dates.
SGoRR has been up and running since this morning and will be in operation until Sunday evening to monitor impacts and oversee and co-ordinate the response from Ministers.
The meeting also heard about extra preparedness around major events such as the Royal Highland Show, freight mitigation plans from major retailers to keep supermarkets stocked as much as possible, and wider resilience plans.
Speaking after chairing the meeting, Mr Swinney said: “With a busy summer upon us, there needs to be more urgency from UK Ministers and the Department for Transport to get this situation fixed – and fast. The lack of action being taken by the UK Government is a dereliction of duty.
“We have had our own issues in Scotland but the difference between our approach and that of the UK Government could not be more stark. We have sought dialogue, compromise and agreement, whereas the UK Government has deliberately inflamed the situation causing misery for the travelling public.
“This afternoon’s meeting was an opportunity to hear from agencies and responders about the plans that are in place, and I am confident that the mitigations we can take are being taken, but we heard of the serious impact it is having on many areas and sectors of Scotland such as tourism, freight and major events.
“I am grateful to the travelling public for their considerable patience and for checking ahead, seeking alternatives, and working flexibly, where possible. Our resilience arrangements will remain in place for the rest of the week, however I am in no doubt that this situation can and should be addressed by the UK Government.
“The public have suffered enough and our major events organisers need to be able to look and plan ahead with certainty.”
Public sector workers seem set on a collision course with local and national government over inadequate wage rises …
The General Secretary Designate of teachers union the EIS yesterday urged all of Scotland’s teachers to get active in the campaign to secure a 10% pay rise.
Ms Bradley addressed delegates on the final day of the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Dundee Caird Hall, and just ahead of a rally in support of the EIS ‘Pay Attention’ Campaign in the Civic Square outside the conference venue.
Addressing the AGM, Ms Bradley said, “The obvious and pressing priority is our Pay Attention campaign. We’ve staked our claim, nailed our colours to the mast … now we need to win.
“Listening to our speakers on the issue of pay over the last few days, I know we’ve got what it takes to win this. To win it because it’s simply unacceptable that teachers and other public sector workers would be expected to bear the burden of yet another crisis that’s been created by the economic vandalism of the Tory government and a Cabinet of millionaires …utterly morally bankrupt and more intent on callous racketeering and profiteering than they are on caring about people and supporting recovery.”
“We can’t allow COSLA to peddle the myth of the One Workforce agenda. Or the Scottish Government to quietly sit there on the side-lines being let off the hook by a raft of egalitarian-sounding rhetoric that’s in truth about pay suppression for teachers and by dint of that the rest of the public sector. We know One Workforce is utter fallacy and I have a sense that the other public sector unions know it as well.”
“If we’re to win a pay rise that protects teachers’ incomes from the worst of the cost of living increases, from every corner of the union, we need to keep building what will be a formidable display of our union strength. We’ve started building this – the press statements, the campaign materials, the branch meetings, the petition, the social media activity, and the demo outside this building later this morning.”
“With full-blown organising, comms and political campaigning… synchronicity of actions with local associations, we’ll be ballot ready, strike ready by October and with a strong industrial action strategy mapped out so that we’re strike ready and strike able.
“From the speeches and applause that we’ve heard this AGM about pay and the other inter-related injustices it sounds like you’re well up for taking this on …and so am I!”
COSLA STATEMENT ON PAY NEGOTIATIONS
COSLA is deeply disappointed that the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance have refused the request of all Council Leaders to engage in discussions regarding the current settlement for Local Government and its significant impact on our ongoing pay negotiations.
The implications of the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the rest of the parliament are deeply concerning for communities across Scotland and have further increased the already strong likelihood of industrial action in the coming months.
Scottish Government continues to fail to respect the fundamental role Local Government and its workforce has in addressing their own priorities of tackling child poverty, climate change and a stronger economy.
The ‘Resource Spending Review’, published on 31 May, shows that Local Government’s core funding for the next 3 years will remain static at time when inflation and energy costs are soaring.
This “flat-cash” scenario gives no scope to recognising the essential work of our staff, whose expectations, quite rightly, are being influenced by Scottish Government’s decisions in relation to other parts of the public sector. A suggestion that increases in welfare payments will mitigate the cost of living crisis do not recognise that our staff should not have to depend on such payments to make ends meet.
As things stand, the only option available to Councils is yet fewer jobs and cuts to services that are essential to communities everywhere.
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Gail Macgregor said: “COSLA, every year, argues for fair funding for Local Government to maintain the essential services our communities rely on.
“No increase in our core funding damages these services and limits the options we have in successfully concluding pay negotiations. Refusal to engage in discussion will only see this continue and our communities will see and feel the difference.”
The Fraser of Allander Institute has recognised the impact on councils: “The local government budget will decline by 7% in real terms between 2022/23 and 2026/27 … the real terms erosion of the funding allocations of local authorities represents the continuation of a longer trend.”
UNISON, Scotland’s largest local government union, will be balloting its members in a dispute over pay. The union is planning targeted strike action – this means select groups of workers will be balloted.
UNISON is campaigning for a pay rise for ALL local government workers.
The groups that will be balloted for strike action are members employed working in schools, who provide services to the running and operation of the school, and all members working in early years and in waste and recycling services. The union is recommending that vote ‘YES’ in favour of strike action.
The ballot will run from 10 June and will close on 26 July. It is vital that all ballots are posted back in good time to ensure we receive them by closing date.
Why are we balloting?
Having consistently worked above and beyond to keep our key services going over the past two years of the pandemic, and with the cost of living spiralling, COSLA’s offer of a 2 per cent pay increase for local government workers is nothing short of an insult.
While politicians have raced to praise your efforts their warm words have not been matched by action.
Earlier this year we ran an online consultation to see what you and other local government members thought of the employers’ 2022 pay offer. It was no surprise that the overwhelming majority of you voted to reject the offer and indicated your willingness to take action to achieve a better deal.
Nothing has changed since then and we now need you to vote YES to take strike action to remind your employers exactly how you feel.
This offer is derisory. It is less than the Scottish Public Sector Pay policy, falls far short of our pay claim and is significantly below current levels of inflation. It will exacerbate the gap between those on the lowest and those on the highest rates of pay.
And it is in sharp contrast to the 5.2% increase that councillors themselves have just received from 1st April 2022.
GMB Scotland has attacked “failure at all levels of government” as an industrial action ballot across local government gets underway this morning (Monday 6 June) against the threats of a 2 per cent pay offer and swingeing cuts to local jobs and services.
Nearly 10,000 GMB members in waste and cleansing and schools and early years services will be asked if they back strikes in the face of a pay offer from employer body COSLA amounting to less than £10 a week for staff earning under £25,000 a year.
Joint trade unions in local government wrote to the First Minister and the Finance Secretary last week seeking urgent talks and warned about the consequences for council workers of significantly below inflation pay with the cost of living at a forty-year high.
The ballot, which runs throughout the summer until Tuesday 26 July, also takes place amid dire forecasts for local government budgets following the Scottish Government’s spending review plans.
GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Keir Greenaway warned: “Council workers and the vital services they deliver are firmly in the sights of Kate Forbes’s cuts agenda, and if left unchallenged the lowest paid will pay the highest price in the biggest cost-of-living crisis for 40 years.
“This is what years of failure at all levels of government looks like – a decade of failed austerity, the passing on of cuts to communities, and a meek acceptance of the consequences locally. It’s a far cry from the doorstep applause of virtue-signalling political leaders just two years ago.
“It shows everyone there are no political superheroes and if you want wages that confront soaring inflation then you need to organise and fight for it.
“That’s exactly what our members are doing and unless an improved pay offer is tabled then industrial action looks inevitable.”
RMT launch 3 days of national strike action across the railway network
Over 50,000 railway workers will walkout as part of 3 days of national strike action later this month, in the biggest dispute on the network since 1989.
The union will shut down the country’s railway network on 21st, 23rd and 25th June, due to the inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.
Network Rail and the train operating companies have subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe.
Despite intense talks with the rail bosses, RMT has not been able to secure a pay proposal nor a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
In a separate dispute over pensions and job losses, London Underground RMT members will take strike action on June 21st.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.
“We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1pc and rising.
“Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.
“Rail companies are making at least £500m a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This unfairness is fuelling our members anger and their determination to win a fair settlement.
“RMT is open to meaningful negotiations with rail bosses and ministers, but they will need to come up with new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways.”
A snap poll from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Opinium showed the cost of living was the top issue for 75% of the Scottish electorate when casting their ballot in May.
This was followed by 60% citing the NHS as their primary concern, with public services (21%), housing (15%), Brexit (20%) and the environment (19%) all taking voter preference over the constitution (14%).
The news was cited as a ‘wake-up call’ from the Scottish Trades Union Congress leader Roz Foyer, who will host a specific cost of living crisis summit on June 17th with the Poverty Alliance.
Ms Foyer said: “These elections should be a wake-up call to all levels of government – local, Scottish and UK – that workers throughout the country need urgent and sustained help in the face of this brutal attack on their living standards.
“By far and away, with 75% of the electorate in Scotland citing the cost of living crisis as their top concern, with health, housing and the environment their taking preference over the constitution, all incoming councillors must make this their most urgent priority.
“Our local government manifesto made clear we need sustained investment from the Scottish Government to local authorities throughout the country, helping to deliver a real terms pay increase for our public sector workers. This is in addition to delivering on rent freezes, settling equal pay disputes and introducing universal free school meals throughout the country.
“This is the type of real terms action we need from councillors and government throughout Scotland. Our movement, with affiliates currently balloting for industrial action across the country, are not standing idle whilst workers face this material threat to their living conditions.”
Sign the petition to call for UK government to stop DP World and P&O Ferries replacing 800 sacked workers with cheaper labour.
What’s the issue?
Last week, 800 workers at P&O Ferries were sacked via Zoom call.
This shameful act is devastating for these workers, their families and communities. Workers must be reinstated immediately – and P&O Ferries must face serious consequences.
This is a national scandal – it can’t ever be allowed to happen again. This must be a turning point for workers’ rights in the UK.
The government can stop this, but they will not act unless thousands of us speak up. If callous acts like this are allowed at P&O, they can happen anywhere.
We need your help!
Please support P&O workers by signing the petition and make sure no worker can be treated like this again.
Environmental campaigners and trade unionists have called for MPs to back the creation of an Offshore Training Scheme, as a key solution to removing barriers for oil and gas workers transferring into renewables.
The idea is backed by offshore workers and MSPs from all parties expressed support for an Offshore Training Passport when it was debated in the Scottish Parliament in October 2021.
The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill is making its way through the UK Parliament, with the final vote to take place tomorrow – Monday 21st February. Caroline Lucas MP has tabled three amendments which would require the UK Government to publish a strategy for the creation of an Offshore Training Scheme within a year. Other parties are being urged to back these amendments.
A 2021 survey of 610 offshore workers by Friends of the Earth Scotland, Platform and Greenpeace UK found 97% of workers said they were concerned about training costs. On average, each worker paid £1800 every year to maintain the qualifications required to work in offshore oil and gas. For any worker looking to move into renewables, they are expected to duplicate much of their existing training, at even greater cost.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Just Transition Campaigner Ryan Morrison said: “The skills and experience of offshore workers are vital to enable a rapid shift to renewable energy, but workers cannot be expected to fork out thousands of pounds from their own pocket to duplicate qualifications they already have.
“It is time for MPs to listen to these workers by creating a regulated training passport to ensure a just transition for offshore workers. They have a golden opportunity to do exactly that this week by supporting these amendments.”
94% of workers surveyed supported an Offshore Training Passport to standardise training in the offshore energy industry, removing duplication where possible and significantly reducing the burden of costs faced by often self-employed workers. The amendments put forward by Caroline Lucas would achieve the demands of workers in the industry.
RMT Regional Officer, Jake Molloy said: “The urgency of this issue cannot be overstated. The Trade Unions have been banging this particular drum since the oil and gas downturn of 2014 and the industry and their standards bodies have collectively failed the workforce.
“We need an intervention now; we need the political will and support of MPs across the country to address the injustice of having to pay for work, which is the situation faced by thousands of UK workers! All of the talk about a “Just” transition will continue to be nothing more than ‘talk’ if MPs fail to support this initiative.”
+++ Workers case study (Jack is a pseudonym) +++
Jack*, 39, has worked in the industry for 12 years. He works as a LOLER Focal Point for rigs, having worked his way up from being a trainee rigger.
Jack said: “The companies used to pay for your training costs. So you’d have to cover your first lot of training yourself but after that, once you were established with a company, they would pay for your training because they want you to work for them.
“Now it’s very different. You’ve got to cover all these costs yourself, and they need redoing every couple of years so you’re in this constant cycle, and often the courses do overlap. And some of these agencies are making you pay for your own Personal Protective Equipment that you need to work on an oil rig.
“I have thought about working in renewables, but that’d be thousands of pounds you’d have to pay to work in both industries. It’d just be too much, it costs an absolute fortune just to stay in one sector.
“I was paid off last year, so my certificates lapsed. I ended up having to pay £3,000 for training to only get four months of work.
“Shelling out all this money does cause stress, and it does have an impact on your family and your living costs. There’s lots of people worrying about how they’re going to pay the mortgage. I know people who’ve packed it in altogether because working offshore is just too expensive.”
GMB Scotland members employed by Glasgow City Council have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over their pay, which would see strikes across the city’s cleansing service and schools during the International Climate Conference, COP 26.
Pay talks with COSLA, the umbrella body that represents each of Scotland’s local authorities, have stalled, with the employer refusing to budge from an £850 flat rate offer to all local government workers – far short of the £2,000 pay claim that was submitted by the joint trade unions GMB, Unison & Unite.
Following a ballot of cleansing workers and school support staff across the country, Glasgow is the largest of 5 councils in Scotland that could see strike action as soon as November 1st.
96.9% of returned ballots in Glasgow were in favour of strike action.
GMB Scotland represents close to 900 workers in Glasgow’s refuse & cleansing service and a further 600 across Glasgow schools providing cleaning, janitorial and catering services.
GMB Glasgow Cleansing Convenor Chris Mitchell said:“Over the past 18 months throughout this awful pandemic, essential services across Scotland have been held together by an army of low paid workers.
“We were called key workers, even Covid heroes, but while politicians were happy to applaud us on Thursday nights, they’ve never put their hands in their pockets to pay us properly.
“The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow during COP 26, and our politicians now have a choice – will they fairly reward the frontline workers who got the country through the pandemic, or will they risk embarrassing the city and the country on an international stage?
“The message that our members have sent with this ballot result is clear. We are taking a stand for what we deserve, and we believe the people will stand with us.”
Scotland’s rail network will also be hit by strikes during the UN climate summit in Glasgow, the RMT union confirmed yesterday.
RMT union kicks off justice for Mitie cleaners events in Glasgow today and urges public to sign petition for living wage.
Rail Union RMT will kick off a series of campaigning events, starting in Glasgow this morning, demanding Justice for Mitie cleaners on Network Rail Managed Stations and urging the public to sign the petition supporting a living wage for a group of crucial staff who do some of the dirtiest jobs on our railways.
The campaign highlights the fact that passengers using Glasgow Central, Edinburgh Waverley, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds City or Birmingham New Street stations, are passing through stations that are cleaned, day and night, by people who are surviving on poverty pay.
Network Rail has outsourced the work of cleaning many of their stations to a company called Mitie Facilities Management, part of the Mitie Group plc.
Mitie Group paid nearly £49 million to its shareholders in dividends in the last five years – but it won’t pay its cleaners the Real Living Wage.
A recent survey carried out by RMT of Mitie workers came back with 50% of respondents saying they struggled to make ends meet. The union believes that a multi-million pound public company like Network Rail should not be allowing its contractors to pay poverty wages.
Leafleting campaigns outside the Network Rail Managed Stations on the contract will take place:
*Outside GLASGOW CENTRAL (Gordon Street Entrance) on TUESDAY 20th August 2019 – 16.00 to 18.00
*Outside EDINBURGH WAVERLEY (Market Street Entrance) on WEDNESDAY 21st August 2019 – 16.30 to 18.00
*Outside LIVERPOOL LIME STREET (Main Entrance) on FRIDAY 30th August 2019 – 16.30 to 18.00
*Outside MANCHESTER PICCADILLY (Piccadilly approach) on MONDAY 2nd September 2019 – 16.30 to 18.00
*Outside LEEDS CITY STATION (Aire Street/ Wellington Street entrance) on TUESDAY 3rd September 2019 – 16.30 to 18.00
*Outside BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET (near the tram stop) on WEDNESDAY 4th September 2019 – 16.30 to 18.00
RMT General Secretary, Mick Cash said: “It is a scandal that the staff employed by outsourcing giant Mitie who clean stations for Network Rail, doing some of the dirtiest work in the rail industry at all hours of the night and day, are struggling to make ends meet and are paid below the Real Living Wage.
“A company that can pay nearly £49 million to its shareholders in dividends in the last five years for doing nothing can afford to pay its cleaners a decent wage for the work that they do.
“Mitie’s cleaners have had enough and are fighting for a real Living Wage, but they need the help of the travelling public and I would urge passengers to sign the petition and help us to persuade Mitie and Network Rail to put an end to this scandal.
“RMT will be doing all it can to support Mitie cleaners, cleaning up the vomit, human waste and the rest of the filth at our stations, in their fight to make this wealthy company do the right thing and pay its workers a Real Living Wage.”
MITIE has responded with the following statement: “Mitie is fully supportive of initiatives to pay our staff the Real Living Wage.
“We know how difficult it is to maintain a decent standard of living and take care of a family on the National Living Wage, which is why we have worked with most of our top clients to move to the Real Living Wage.
“We are in regular dialogue with Network Rail regarding pay and conditions, and will do all we can to work closely with them, and with other stakeholders such as the Business Services Association and unions where appropriate, to obtain a move to the Real Living Wage for our staff.”
