Ministerial statement on rail strikes

Speaking ahead of chairing the latest meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience committee to discuss rail strikes this afternoon, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said:

“The absolute priority throughout this process has always been safety and encouraging a swift and satisfactory resolution to this dispute. I have repeatedly called for talks and we are therefore pleased that dialogue resumed between both parties today and we would encourage that process to continue.

"We thank the travelling public for their efforts and patience during these strikes, and are grateful to those ScotRail staff who still managed to run a high percentage of services over the weekend.

“As safety issues are absolutely paramount, I have written to the independent Rail Regulator (ORR) to seek its opinion on the debate in Scotland centring on the role of Conductor grade staff on electric trains in Scotland, particularly in light of the RMT’s recently published document – ‘The Safety Critical Role of the Guard’.

“The safety of passengers and employees is paramount, and we look forward to receiving the independent Regulator’s feedback, especially as 51 per cent of our services in Scotland (carrying 59 per cent of passengers) currently operate in this way.”