The National Executive Committee of the RMT, Britain’s largest specialist transport trade union, says that industrial action is necessary to force management to resolve the issues as a ‘matter of urgency’. Industrial action is scheduled to take place between 6am on Monday July 3 and 05.59am on Tuesday July 4.

‘strength and solidarity’

Mick Cash, General Secretary of the RMT, said: “On behalf of myself and the Executive Committee I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our members at Coatbridge for their show of strength and solidarity in supporting this very important dispute. Bullying and harassment from management is wholly unacceptable to the RMT and our membership and must be called to a halt.

“The union has a zero tolerance policy of bullying and harassment and Freightliner should take note of the anger amongst the workforce and get this matter resolved. The union remains available for talks.”

‘find a solution’

Freightliner is one of the UK’s biggest rail freight operators, and is owned by the US-based Genesee & Wyoming Inc. A spokesperson said: “The Company and the RMT union have agreed to sit down today in order to find a solution to any outstanding concerns and to reach an outcome that resolves these.” A meeting was due to take place on June 23, but details of the discussions have not been made public.

The company’s Coatbridge Terminal is located on the Motherwell to Inverness main line situated between the Scottish capital Edinburgh and Glasgow. This pivotal location, says the company website, means it is a natural hub for rail operations within Scotland and further enhanced by its location close to major RDCs, key Scottish exporters and principal road haulage hubs.