Strikes signal concerns about hanging roles

The RMT union recently served notice that it is in a formal dispute with ferry operator CalMac over pay. This comes on the heels of a damaging summer of rail strikes across Scotland with a dispute affecting ScotRail train services run by Abellio. Both ferry and rail franchises have recently been renewed, so have the ingredients for failure inadvertently been built into the new contracts?

The skills of CalMac staff are clear from high ratings achieved on services such as TripAdvisor. The staff have been commended for their personalised advice about local attractions and events, in addition to the efficient way they maintain safe operation of the vessels.

Both Abellio and CalMac's franchise bids were based on plans for improving performance and efficiency. Incentives in the franchises are intended to create pressures for market development, but there are also fears they could lead to pay restraint for staff . Achieving the promised productivity gains may be more challenging than the companies hoped.

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