LONDON — Talks aimed at averting further strikes by Scottish train drivers in a dispute over pay broke down Friday, according to a wire service report.
Drivers working for ScotRail said they will stage another 24-hour strike on Monday, the latest in a series of walkouts that has plagued British railways in recent months.
Unions are seeking a substantial pay rise for members at ScotRail who they say are among the lowest-paid train drivers in the country.
ASLEF and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union had been expecting an improved pay offer following the announcement Thursday that ScotRail is to receive an extra 70 million pounds (dlrs 105 million) in state subsidies.
Union officials said the company has reduced a previous pay offer made when the two sides met at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, or ACAS.
Unions also said the company made its latest offer conditional on workers accepting cuts in vacation entitlements, which drivers reject.
ScotRail says its “last ditch” offer of 16.5 percent, including self-financed flexibility measures, would raise drivers’ annual salaries from 23,000 pounds (dlrs 32,600) to 26,900 pounds (dlrs 38,200).
The company says it is also prepared to consider a 3 percent annual rise that would lift pay to 28,400 (dlrs 40,300) within two years.
Commuters have been hit by a wave of strikes against various rail operators around Britain in the past two months. As well as Scotland, strikes have been called in separate disputes in northern England and in and around London.