Drivers and Ticketing Services Assistants (TSAs) on Edinburgh Trams are threatening strike action over what they say are the imposition of new rotas which will see more weekend working for no extra pay. There is also said to be unhappiness that Edinburgh Trams have announced plans to run overnight services for Hogmanay without consulting with staff beforehand.
The Unite Union are preparing their members ahead of the proposed vote with deputy Scottish secretary Mary Alexander telling the Edinburgh Evening News: “Our members are deeply unhappy about the changes in rota that Edinburgh Trams is trying to force on them. We will be meeting with our shop stewards later this week and discussing how to take this matter forward. If the management of Edinburgh Trams don’t start listening to our members’ concerns, we may be left with no option but to carry out a consultative ballot for industrial action.”
For their part a spokesman from Edinburgh Trams said: “The proposed changes, which we’re still consulting on, are about fixing a historical anomaly in shift patterns that affects some of our drivers, as well as helping the service to grow. An expanded tram operation is good news for all of our staff and for the people of Edinburgh.”
Once again at the end of the day if the union goes ahead with the ballot – and let’s be honest we all know what the outcome of any ballot will be – the only people who lose out are those who travel on the tram on a daily basis.
These people work for a public transport operator. Hogmanay is a night when people go out and consume alcohol. Why do they think that as public transport employees they would not be expected to work in order for the public to be able to get home? Metrolink run late night / early morning services at New Year and other times (as I am sure do other operators) and New Year is not even officially an English celebration.
Of course it does not help that management appear to have decided to take their employees for granted and not bothered to consult. Not that they are the only company guilty of that by any means these days.