Scottish rail strike: Union calls off two-day Christmas action

Two strikes had been due to take place before Christmas

ScotRail workers have called off strike action which had been due to take place on 22 December and Christmas Eve.

The RMT union held talks with the company in an effort to resolve the dispute sparked by the sacking of ticket examiner Scott Lewis.

Details of the incident involving Mr Lewis had been disputed.

ScotRail said that it was "delighted" the strike was off and that services would be working normally over the festive period.

A spokesman said: "We are delighted that common sense has prevailed and the threat of industrial action has been lifted.

"It is the right decision. Our customers can look forward to normal services over Christmas and to travel to be with family and friends."

An RMT spokesman said: "RMT can confirm that industrial action on ScotRail has been called off as a satisfactory agreement has now been reached between the union and the company."

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "It is a great relief to hear that the RMT union and ScotRail have come to an agreement which sees the cancellation of the strikes planned by the union in the run-up to Christmas.

"Nobody wants to see a strike on our railways, particularly at this time of year, and the travelling public have been left under a great cloud of uncertainty over the past few days about how they will be able to fulfil their plans over the festive period.

"So I welcome this announcement from the RMT and I am sure passengers will also be pleased to hear that these strikes have been averted."

Meanwhile, in a separate dispute, a planned strike by workers on CrossCountry trains on Friday has been called off.

The RMT union said action, which would have affected services on the East Coast Mainline, had been suspended after "significant progress was made in talks.