Subway strikes due on big gig nights in Glasgow
The Unite union says staff are unhappy with covering for short-staffing
Last updated 3rd Jun 2025
Workers on the Glasgow Subway are to stage a series of 24-hours strikes timed to coincide with some of the biggest music concerts in the city this summer.
The Unite union says members on the underground train system have emphatically voted for strike action in a dispute over working conditions.
More than a hundred members of the union voted in the ballot which was approved with a 97.5% vote in favour.
Unite claims the Subway is ‘struggling’ to operate due to chronic understaffing and train drivers and station staff are routinely working up to 10 hours beyond their contracted hours without any improvements to the shift, overtime, and weekend allowances.
It also claims members are repeatedly called in to work shifts at short notice leading to significant work-life pressures.
Gig dates affected
The strike action is scheduled to take place on 21, 25, 27 and 28 June.
The disruption will mean the subway system will be closed on the Punk All Dayer festival featuring the Sex Pistols along with the Sting, Simple Minds and the Stereophonics gigs being held as part of the summer sessions at Bellahouston Park.
A continuous overtime ban will also be in place from 13 June.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s Glasgow subway members membership feel totally devalued and ignored. We will not tolerate our members being exhausted and underpaid. The subway system is running on empty.
“SPT has had every opportunity to resolve the chronic issues that have resulted in this dispute but have chosen not to act.”
Andrew Brown Unite industrial officer said: “The strike action will cause major disruption across the subway system, but this is entirely the fault of SPT’s management which has continuously ignored the workers' concerns about being overstretched and understaffed.”
SPT director of transport operations Richard Robinson said:
"We have been notified by the UNITE the Union that it intends to ask its members to take strike action.
"SPT is currently looking at what this means for services on those days. While we are disappointed that UNITE has chosen to take this action while we are still in active discussions, SPT remains committed to working with UNITE to resolve all issues as we plan for future working arrangements for the Subway."
Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.