Glasgow Subway set for disruption as strikes announced
On Tuesday, Unite the union confirmed more than 100 Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) workers had voted to reject an interim offer tabled by employers.
The National told how previous strikes – which were meant to take place last weekend during Glasgow's Summer Sessions – were suspended in an "act of good faith", in order to vote on the interim offer.
Strike action is now set to take place on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
READ MORE: Plans published for revamp of Glasgow's Buchanan Galleries after demolition axed
Workers say they believe the Subway system is "struggling" to operate due to "chronic understaffing", while staff are "routinely working up to 10 hours beyond contracted hours" to keep the system running.
The union said its members were often called in to work shifts at short notice, "leading to significant work-life pressures".
Commenting, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Unite's Glasgow subway members are fed up with SPT's half measures and failure to deliver decent working conditions.
'It has had every opportunity to sort out understaffing, shift pay and working hours. The workers have rightly said enough is enough because the subway is running on empty. SPT know what it needs to do to resolve the dispute but has entirely failed to act. '
READ MORE: 'Unexplained' death as man's body found inside caravan in Dundee
Andrew Brown, Unite industrial officer, said: 'The offer tabled by SPT was overwhelmingly rejected by our members.
'Strike action is now set to take place over a series of days bringing the subway to a stop. SPT has only itself to blame for failing to come up with any workable solution to this dispute which stretches back to last year."
SPT has been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Sir Keir Starmer says fixing welfare system is a 'moral imperative'
Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK's benefits system is broken and fixing it is a "moral imperative", a day after a backbench Labour revolt saw him forced into a U-turn on welfare prime minister told the Welsh Labour Party conference in Llandudno that the government would not take away the welfare "safety net that vulnerable people rely on".But he said he couldn't let benefits "become a snare for those who can and want to work". Despite the government's concession on its plans to reform welfare, there are calls from MPs for further changes, while the Unite union has called for the proposed changes to be dropped altogether. Speaking at the conference in north Wales on Saturday, Sir Keir said fixing the "broken" benefits system needed to be done because it was "failing people every day", leaving "a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control". "Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way," he added. The government's initial plans, aimed at bringing down the welfare bill, would have made it harder for people to claim personal independence payment (Pip), a benefit paid to 3.7 million people with long-term physical or mental health following a rebellion among Labour MPs and the likelihood the government would be defeated in the Commons, the government announced the stricter criteria would only apply to new reversed its plans to freeze the health-related component of universal credit, and the payment will now rise in line with inflation for existing will also carry out a review of the Pip assessment process, with input from disability organisations.A £1bn support package to help people into work, originally scheduled for 2029, will be fast-tracked. Labour MP Diane Abbott told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she thought the result of a vote on the new plans would be tight, partly because backbenchers are still "upset about the lack of consultation" and because of "the notion of a two-tier benefit system".But former Labour justice secretary Lord Falconer told the programme that "sensible" changes to the welfare reforms were "pretty significant", and that he believed opposition among Labour MPs was "shrinking and shrinking".Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP who chairs the Work and Pensions Select Committee, told the BBC on Friday: "The concessions are a good start, they are very good concessions and they will protect existing claimants."However there are still concerns about new claimants. It would not be right for me not to do anything just to spare the prime minister an inconvenience."Ahead of Sir Keir's conference speech, Unite called for the "entire welfare bill to be dropped and for the government to start again", with general secretary Sharon Graham accusing Labour of "attacking the most vulnerable in our society"."The government's latest plans for disabled benefits cuts are divisive and sinister," she said. "Creating a two-tier system where younger disabled people and those who become disabled in the future will be disadvantaged and denied access to work and education, is morally wrong."
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Glasgow Times
Plans to promote sustainable travel in Glasgow given funding
This cash injection will be used to improve active travel infrastructure and make public spaces safer and more accessible for pedestrians. It will also support initiatives that encourage walking, wheeling, and cycling, especially for school commutes, and provide upgrades to bus stops and employer schemes to create cycle-friendly workplaces. It will also support initiatives that encourage walking, wheeling, and cycling (Image: Supplied) The fund draws from four Scottish Government-backed schemes through Transport Scotland - the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF), the People and Place Programme (PPP), Local Authority Direct Award (LADA), and SPT's Capital Grant Fund. Councillor Angus Millar, city convener for transport, said: "These funding awards are really great news for active travel in Glasgow. Read more: Plans for one of UK's biggest green AI data centres in Ravenscraig revealed Man dies after police rush to Glasgow property amid incident "We want to create a roads network that encourages walking, wheeling and cycling across the city and it's great to see our vision being backed by the Scottish Government in this way. "Some of these funding streams focus on construction-ready projects and I am delighted that the efforts we have made to develop designs for potential new infrastructure are being recognised. "The funding will also enable us to invest further in organisations and activities that give people the knowledge, skills and confidence to use our growing infrastructure network, supporting them to walk, wheel and cycle more often. "Major infrastructure projects such as Connecting Woodside, the East City Way and Dumbreck Road Active Travel Link will all make vital connections to other routes that make it easier to move around the city by bike. "We know that as more and more safe, segregated routes begin to knit together across Glasgow, people will be more minded to choose active travel instead of having to depend on the car for local journeys." Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, said: 'I'm pleased that this £10.6 million award from the Scottish Government to Glasgow City Council will help realise their ambitions for better walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure, alongside projects which encourage more active travel. "Through this investment we will make it easier for more people to choose sustainable transport. 'To support the continued ambitions of our local authorities – and to keep making walking, wheeling and cycling easier for shorter everyday journeys – in 2025-26 the Scottish Government will invest over £188 million in active and sustainable transport.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Huge funding boost for sustainable travel routes across Glasgow
The cash boost draws on four separate funding schemes backed by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland - the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF), the People and Place Programme (PPP), Local Authority Direct Award (LADA) and SPT's Capital Grant Fund. Funding of £3.8m will be used to deliver four major active travel infrastructure projects – Connecting Woodside (St George's Road), Connecting Yorkhill and Kelvingrove (Phase 1), Flourishing Molendinar (Phase 1) and Dumbreck Road Active Travel Link. Work will start in the coming months to construct these new routes. Funding of £4.9m from ATIF Tier 1 will also be used on a range of smaller-scale projects that increase the appeal of active travel, including Phase 5 of the East City Way which will now advance to construction. Pedestrian crossings will be upgraded (Image: GCC) Design work to support the delivery of Connecting Greater Govan and future phases of Flourishing Molendinar and the East City Way, will also now be moved forward. High visibility cycle counters and the continued roll out of Glasgow City Council's school cycle shelters programme will now move forward, as will the delivery of upgraded traffic signals and pedestrian infrastructure at various locations across the city. PPP funding of over £1m, administered by SPT, will support a wide range of initiatives to be delivered by third sector organisations including Women on Wheels and Bike for Good. Projects include those that reduce barriers to active travel such as learn-to-ride group cycling sessions, subsidised bike access for people on low-incomes, and support for employers keen to encourage their staff to commute by bike. An SPT Capital Grant Fund award of £435,000 will encourage greater use of public transport through bus route priority upgrades, improved access to bus and Subway stations, and enhancements to the Paisley Road West bus corridor. While projects progressed through £341,958 of LADA award funding will include our Staff Travel Plan, road safety initiatives which encourage travelling actively to school, and winter gritting of cycling routes. Routes will be upgraded across the city (Image: GCC) Councillor Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport, welcomed the multiple funding awards as a vote of confidence in Glasgow's efforts to support walking, wheeling and cycling across the city. Cllr Angus Millar said: "These funding awards are really great news for active travel in Glasgow. "We want to create a roads network that encourages walking, wheeling and cycling across the city and it's great to see our vision being backed by the Scottish Government in this way. Some of these funding streams focus on construction-ready projects and I am delighted that the efforts we have made to develop designs for potential new infrastructure are being recognised. 'The funding will also enable us to invest further in organisations and activities that give people the knowledge, skills and confidence to use our growing infrastructure network, supporting them to walk, wheel and cycle more often. We'll also be delivering high-quality upgrades to pedestrian infrastructure across the city such as safer, step-free crossings, tactile paving, dropped kerbs, and wider pavements. "Major infrastructure projects such as Connecting Woodside, the East City Way and Dumbreck Road Active Travel Link will all make vital connections to other routes that make it easier to move around the city by bike. We know that as more and more safe, segregated routes begin to knit together across Glasgow, people will be more minded to choose active travel instead of having to depend on the car for local journeys.' READ MORE: I'm scared of cycling Edinburgh's city centre. Here's what happened when I did Emergency city centre road closure after sinkhole discovered 'Another significant step forward' for city centre transformation Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop added: 'I'm pleased that this £10.6 million award from the Scottish Government to Glasgow City Council will help realise their ambitions for better walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure, alongside projects which encourage more active travel. 'Through this investment we will make it easier for more people to choose sustainable transport. 'To support the continued ambitions of our local authorities – and to keep making walking, wheeling and cycling easier for shorter everyday journeys – in 2025-26 the Scottish Government will invest over £188 million in active and sustainable transport.'
