Progress has been made on pay talks to avert the disruption to train services.
ScotRail met again with ASLEF earlier and both announced afterwards that they have made progress.
The pay offer has been increased to five per cent and there has also been improved offers on pay for rest day working, Sunday working allowances, driving instructor allowances, maternity pay and an extension of no compulsory redundancies to five years.
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ScotRail has also agreed to a five-year commitment to no compulsory redundancies and a commitment to bring Sunday into the working week.
ASLEF Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay said: ”We are pleased that today significant progress has been made in our latest round of talks with ScotRail.
“The offer on pay has been increased to five per cent and we have received improved offers on pay for rest day working, Sunday working allowances, driving instructor allowances, maternity pay and an extension of no compulsory redundancies to five years. There has also been an improved proposal around the non-consolidated revenue scheme.
“The Joint Working Party will also be looking at Sundays being part of the working week subject to negotiations by December 2027 as per the ASLEF charter.”
ScotRail said the five per cent increase was broken down as 2.2 per cent to recognise the cost-of-living challenges which will be funded by Transport Scotland and a further 2.8 per cent increase funded by ScotRail, which recognises and rewards the flexibility of rostering arrangements.
Under this offer, basic pay for drivers (excluding trainees and those who are newly qualified) would increase by more than £2,600, taking the salary to £55,264.
A similar offer on pay has also been made to the RMT representing general grades.
David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: “We’ve made a really good offer which recognises the cost-of-living challenges faced by families across the country and delivers good value for the public.
“The feedback we’ve had from many drivers is that they recognise we have made a series of very good offers and we are pleased they will get a say in a referendum.
“The railway plays a vital role in growing the economy and connecting communities. Now more than ever we all need to work together to attract more people to the railway as we recover from the impact of the pandemic.”
Since ASLEF announced it was in dispute with ScotRail, many drivers have made themselves unavailable for rest day working or overtime, which has lead to a reduced timetable.
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