Update on Glasgow Subway strikes during Summer Sessions
More than 100 Glasgow Subway workers, represented by the Unite union, were set to walk out on Saturday, June 21.
However, the industrial action has been paused following a new offer from SPT.
The dispute centres around pay, terms, and working conditions, with staff raising concerns over chronic understaffing and excessive overtime demands.
READ MORE: Paolo Nutini and Ncuti Gatwa join calls for Labour to suspend Israel arms sales
Andrew Brown, Industrial Officer at Unite, said: 'An interim offer has been tabled by SPT.
"Our members will now decide if it provides a temporary solution until a wider long-term agreement can be secured.
"Strike action has been suspended for this Saturday, June 21, as an act of good faith while members are balloted on the offer.'
Unite claims that SPT workers are frequently working up to 10 hours beyond their contracted 39 hours per week to keep the subway system operational.
The union says the service is 'struggling' due to severe staff shortages.
READ MORE: Weekend night bus services to return to Scottish city
A ballot on the offer is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 22.
If the offer is rejected, further strike action is planned for June 25, 27, and 28.
These dates coincide with several major events, including the Punk All Dayer festival featuring the Sex Pistols, and concerts by Sting, Simple Minds, and Stereophonics at Bellahouston Park as part of the city's Summer Sessions.
A continuous overtime ban will also begin on 13 June, further impacting operations in the run-up to the strikes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
an hour ago
- STV News
Minister announces £1bn in savings to be redirected to frontline services
The Scottish Government has launched a brand new public service reform strategy to make £1bn of savings in the next five years. Ivan McKee set out a range of reforms to Scotland's public sector on Thursday as he aims to make it efficient and fit for the future. He said spending from 'back office costs' will be cut by 20%, with the cash being redirected to frontline services. By 2029-30, the Government estimates this will amount to £1bn a year in savings, freeing up cash in areas such as the NHS. 'This will require every part of the public sector to reduce the cost of doing business to prioritise the frontline,' McKee said. 'The aim is to do things better, not do less.' McKee said the Scottish Government will achieve the savings through a combination of automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and workforce reform. Among the 80 actions set out in Mr McKee's reforms include changes to the culture of the public sector and those in charge of it. The number of public bodies will be reduced to drive a more efficient system alongside a new review of public sector buildings. The minister said the Government will embrace automation and new technology to digitise government. The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) criticised the strategy of 'missing the mark'. 'Whenever government ministers speak of public sector 'efficiencies', workers anxiously hold their breath,' said STUC general secretary Roz Foyer. 'These cuts, prepacked as reforms, miss the mark entirely. Simply put: you can't fix public services by cutting the very people who keep them running. Talk of reducing headcount while NHS waiting times spiral, A&E departments are overwhelmed and social care is in crisis is as reckless as it is illogical.' She said Scotland deserves public services that are properly funded, and 'not an overreliance on technology to plug staffing shortages'. 'The reality is that Scotland's fiscal future demands honesty and ambition. Instead of chasing cuts disguised as reform, ministers should be adopting progressive tax policies that can raise the revenue we need,' Ms Foyer said. 'Before racing ahead with changes, the Scottish Government must engage in serious dialogue with the trade union movement. We've been clear: we will not support any programme that threatens jobs, conditions or the quality of the services our communities rely on. That position remains the same.' The Tory shadow secretary for finance slammed the reforms as a 'wish-list of word soup that fails to mention waste once'. 'Despite the SNP saying we were reckless for proposing fully costed tax cuts worth £500m, they now claim they can save £1bn by merely slashing corporate functions,' MSP Craig Hoy said. 'There is still an astonishing lack of detail as to where these savings will be made, or what quangos will be axed. The public simply will not trust the SNP to suddenly tackle the enormous waste they have presided over.' Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour's finance spokesman, said he welcomed the 'overall sentiment' but feared it amounted to 'a plan for a plan'. He said Thursday's statement was 'an acknowledgement that we have a billion pounds worth of waste'. He added: 'Reform, to my mind, is not about shrinking the state, but maximising its effectiveness and you cannot ignore the fact that over the past decade, the civil service has grown at three times the rate of the NHS, while police, fire and colleges' headcounts have all fallen.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Dundee University report must be ‘watershed moment', Tories say
Within minutes of the report, interim principal Professor Shane O'Neill – who was part of a 'triumvirate' including the former principal and the former chief operating officer which was heavily criticised – announced he and two other senior officials would be standing down. The findings of the independent investigation into the financial challenges facing the University of Dundee have been published — Scottish Funding Council (@ScotFundCouncil) June 19, 2025 The report accused former principal Professor Iain Gillespie of 'hubris' and refusing to take criticism, as well as hitting out at internal monitoring of the university's finances. Responding to the publication of the report, Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said: 'This is a devastating report into the gross mismanagement that has existed for far too long at the University of Dundee. 'In light of the damning findings it is welcome they have done the right thing and resigned from their roles instantly. 'Senior figures were told what they had to do to get Dundee University into a sustainable position but they repeatedly failed to act, and covered up the true state of its financial position.' He added: 'The report is scathing about the inexcusable failures by those in leadership roles. 'It is now essential that this is a watershed moment to ensure no Scottish university will ever face such a situation in future.' Local Labour MSP Michael Marra accused former leaders of 'financial vandalism'. 'The report shows that the institution was failed catastrophically by a small group of executive leaders entirely out of their depth and cowed by a hubristic principal who brooked no dissent,' he said. 'Details of Iain Gillespie's leadership style are deeply troubling – sidelining, speaking over or publicly criticising women in the university who dared to speak up. 'There were also clear failures of governance, with inaccurate reports which masked the true financial picture and public statements by the principal that were purposefully misleading.' Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said the crisis had been 'devastating' and urged there to be a new leadership team in place 'without delay'. 'It is not an exaggeration to say that the staff and students have been betrayed,' he said. 'The oppressive behaviour from the top together with inadequate reporting and governance from the court has led to this failure. 'It is right that the whole leadership team has now gone.' In the wake of the crisis, the university announced it would have to make redundancies, with the initial estimate of 700 jobs to be cut eventually dropping to around 300. The University and College Union successfully balloted its members for strike action as a result of the plans. The union's Scotland official Mary Senior said the report laid bare 'abject failings' of management. 'Given the clear failings of management, it should not be staff and students that are left to pay the price in cuts to their jobs and cuts to education,' she said. 'We are clear that the university should now commit to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies.' When the university announced it would be reducing the number of redundancies, bosses said cuts would be made through a voluntary redundancy scheme.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Alexander Dennis: FM warned a year ago over firm 'reconsidering' Scotland
The First Minister was also told they had already been 'forced' to offshore certain manufacturing functions to China. The Labour MP for Falkirk, Euan Stainbank, said it was 'absolutely astonishing that John Swinney' had been informed of the risk to hundreds of Scottish jobs and 'done absolutely nothing to avert this'. Notes seen by The Herald show the First Minister intervened after learning of potential redundancies at the firm, suggesting 'further capital support' and advising Scottish Enterprise to 'exhaust all options to support the business'. Scottish Government records show ADL has received £58 million in public 'subsidy' for green vehicles since 2020 under two schemes aimed at transitioning Scotland to green buses. Some £30m in job grants for research and development over 10 years came from the Scottish Government's economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise. A delivered Alexander Dennis bus (Image: Pic supplied) Despite this, ADL said there was not enough support from government and issued a stern warning about its future in Scotland in August last year. READ MORE by Martin Williams "We are regretfully left with the impression through recent developments that the Scottish Government has little regard for domestic bus manufacturing jobs in Scotland and we have no choice but to reconsider our entire investment in the Scottish operations of Alexander Dennis," the Canada-based executive told the First Minister. "In fact, in an attempt to enhance our price competitiveness we have already been forced to offshore certain fabrication functions to China. "I would appreciate an urgent face-to-face meeting with you and key members of your Government to further discuss this critical situation." The First Minister and Deputy First Minister set out the economic case for Scottish independence in 2013 at the Alexander Dennis Falkirk plant. (Image: NQ) He said that in Canada and the United States, governments and transit agencies are 'incredibly proud' of their domestic manufacturers and support them accordingly. "Alexander Dennis operates in a market that had left them with the impression that governments do not seem to care about domestic economic importance," he added. "Indeed, this seems to fly in the face of Scotland's flagship policy plans for a Just Transition, which aims to deliver a fairer, greener future for all, delivered in partnership with those impacted by the transition to net zero. "Alexander Dennis is a key manufacturer in Scotland assisting in delivering a Just Transition through the manufacturing of zero-emission buses with their workforce. "Alexander Dennis should be considered a business of strategic economic importance to Scotland." ADL expressed frustration in May 2023 over the Scottish Government's Zero Emissions Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB). A Scottish Government memo to the Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, revealed a series of letters from ADL and NFI raising concerns about the outcome of the fund. While a Scottish Government memo said ADL received orders for 363 zero-emission buses – more than any other manufacturer – a separate briefing stated ADL was awarded only 17%, or 44 buses, from phase two. A meeting was set up between the First Minister and Mr Soubry in August last year over levels of support rooted in Scottish Government schemes launched in 2020 to accelerate zero and low emission bus manufacture and 'help drive a green recovery out of the Covid pandemic', worth £155.8m to date. The relationship between Alexander Dennis and the SNP goes back to 2013, when then First Minister Alex Salmond and then Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon used its Falkirk base to launch the economic case for Scottish independence. He said while ADL received 17% of the orders under ScotZEB2, no other UK manufacturer benefitted — despite all being part of the Scottish Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce. He expected 83% of the 252 buses ordered under ScotZEB2 to go to manufacturers based in either China or Egypt. He said there was a 'further disappointing revelation' in the final round of ScotZEB — that the winning bid would leverage £3.20 of private sector investment for every £1 from the Scottish Government for 252 vehicles. Mr Soubry said 'this was surprising to read' as the unsuccessful Alexander Dennis-led Phoenix consortium bid planned to deliver up to £3.94 of private investment per £1 of ScotZEB2 funding for a volume of 300 zero-emission buses. "With recent decisions by UK bus operators to acquire largely imported buses with no domestic economic, technology or labour requirements or benefits, we feel we have no choice but to now begin preparations to put a number of people within our team at risk of redundancy, which could decimate the communities we operate in and have important historic ties with," he said. (Image: Alexander Dennis) Mr Stainbank said the letter to the First Minister was a damning indictment of the SNP's failure to act. "It is absolutely astonishing that John Swinney was informed of the real risk to Alexander Dennis's Scottish operations close to a year ago," he said. "He appears in the interim to have done absolutely nothing to avert this. "This is a monumental failure of SNP industrial policy. Greater Manchester bought more than five times as many buses from Alexander Dennis than the SNP did - operating under the exact same legal framework. John Swinney should be embarrassed by that." A month after Mr Soubry's letter, a further call between the First Minister and NFI and ADL showed that Mr Swinney advised and asked that Scottish Enterprise 'exhaust all options to support the business'. A note of the meeting cleared by Mr Swinney stated that he requested that 'all options are exhausted before any final decision is taken by ADL'. An official note of a meeting between Mr Swinney and representatives of Alexander Dennis from 12 August says the First Minister 'noted the potential for further capital support should be explored'. By then Alexander Dennis had already benefited from taxpayer-funded grants and support from the Scottish Government worth £90m since 2005. In the same year of the 2023 ScotZEB2 launch, Scottish Enterprise sanctioned a £13.2m grant on top of a £49.7m ADL investment into the development of zero emissions technology for battery-electric and hydrogen fuel powertrains. Some £11.2m was drawn down. John Swinney (Image: PA) Last week, Mr Swinney told MSPs he was 'deeply concerned' about the proposed job losses and said the government was 'exploring all viable options' to support the workforce. He defended the government's record, stating that Alexander Dennis had received more orders than any other manufacturer under the first phase of ScotZEB and was supported with significant research and development funding. However, he acknowledged that UK-wide subsidy control rules limit what the Scottish Government can do to directly support or prefer domestic manufacturers. 'We must work within the law,' he said. 'But we are trying to find a way through the Subsidy Control Act to ensure we can support manufacturing in Scotland.' Union leaders are calling for more urgency. Unite Scotland estimates that up to 1,600 jobs could be at risk when supply chain roles are included and warned of a 'devastating' impact on communities already reeling from the Grangemouth oil refinery closure. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'We are exploring all viable options throughout the consultation period to allow the firm to retain their hard-working employees and manufacturing and production facilities at Falkirk and Larbert. 'Since 2020, ADL secured orders for more zero emission buses than any other single manufacturer through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund and its predecessor the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme. "ADL has received £58m of Scottish Government subsidy for vehicles under these programmes. ADL have secured orders for more than 360 vehicles through Scottish Government zero emission bus funding programmes, compared to the 160 currently on order from Manchester. 'In response to correspondence in August 2024, the First Minister met with the company that same month, and Scottish Enterprise have been supporting the company with additional supportive measures.'
