27 May 2016
RMT Press Office:
Abellio caught red handed trying to organise scab-army as RMT ballot on Scotrail continues.
RAIL UNION RMT today slammed Scotrail for "declaring all out war on their workforce" after emails emerged confirming that the Dutch-owners, Abellio, are recruiting a scab-army behind the scenes - proving that they have no intention of reaching a negotiated settlement in the dispute over the threat to their safety-critical train guards.
The emails, attributed to Abellio's projects director Mick Schofield, attempt to coerce staff from elsewhere in their UK operations into undertaking a four week "training course" from June 13th to become a scab guard in the event of any industrial action.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;
"The attempt to coerce staff from elsewhere in Abellio's UK operations into joining this scab-army is nothing less than a declaration of war by Scotrail on its workforce as the RMT ballot continues. Our members both in Scotland and across the UK are furious at this provocative move.
"The revelations show that far from their so-called assurances that there is no threat to the guards, behind the scenes Abellio are gearing up to try and break their workforce using the kind of dirty tactics that remind us of the miners strike.
"RMT will be stepping up our fight to protect jobs and safety on Scotrail regardless of this act of outright aggression from the company."
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