Union calls off CalMac ferry strike

CalMac plans to operate nine of its 27 routes if Friday's strike goes ahead

The RMT union has called off a planned CalMac ferry strike that had been due to be held on Friday.

The union said the move was to allow for further talks aimed at resolving a row over employees' job security and pensions.

The 24-hour strike would also have impacted on Argyll Ferries.

The dispute was triggered by the tendering of the contract for CalMac's Clyde and Hebrides ferry routes.

In a letter to its members, the RMT said the Scottish government had agreed to delay the tendering process to allow further negotiation on the key issues of jobs, staffing, conditions and pensions.

The union's general secretary, Mick Cash, wrote in the letter: "A timetable has been agreed for these discussions which must be concluded by 24 July 2015. All members are instructed to work normally on Friday 10 July 2015."

Further talks aimed at resolving the dispute had broken up earlier on Wednesday without any apparent resolution being found. The negotiations were due to begin again on Thursday morning.

Three days of industrial action by CalMac staff last month culminated in a 24-hour strike that saw two-thirds of its routes cancelled.

European rules

A second union, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), sent out strike ballot papers on Friday to about 100 of its members who work for CalMac.

Like CalMac, Argyll Ferries is owned by the state-owned David MacBrayne Group.

CalMac's contract to run Clyde and Hebrides ferry services comes to an end next year.

The Scottish government has put the contract out to tender, in line with European rules.

Private company Serco - which already runs the Northern Ferries routes to Orkney and Shetland - is competing against CalMac for the contract.

Unions are concerned that, regardless of who wins, the new contract will see changes in employees' current terms and conditions, with a reduction in staff numbers and pensions also among the key areas of concern.

The RMT has asked that the government guarantees in the new contract that compulsory redundancies do not happen and existing terms and conditions are continued.