Get answers from the boss of Scotrail

Phil Verster will be taking your calls on Scotland's Talk In

Published 23rd Jun 2016

We're giving you the chance to put the boss of Scotrail on the spot.

Managing Director Phil Verster will be taking your calls on any issue you want to raise about his company’s services on Scotland’s Talk In on Westsound on Sunday lunchtime.

You can put your points to him by calling 0333 2020 401

Scotrail is in the middle of a bitter dispute with the RMT which is staging a series of 24-hour walkouts in a dispute over driver-only trains.

One each of the strike days around a third of services have not been running, affecting 15 routes.

The RMT is opposed to the extension of driver-only and driver-controlled services and balloted ScotRail conductors last month, saying it had not received the assurances it had sought on the issue from the company.

These included guarantees that the safety role of conductors and their role in operating train doors would not be reduced or abolished.

General secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT members should not have to face the risk of their role and responsibilities being reduced and undermined.

“The workforce also know only too well that there is a very real threat to passengers of watering down and wiping out the safety critical role of the guard on these ScotRail services. That is a lethal gamble with basic rail safety.

Phil Verster has called the strike ''totally needless''.

''The public will be astonished to hear that this is a strike only about who opens and closes doors on trains, nothing more.

''The RMT are being, at best, disingenuous when they tell people that we are trying to have driver-only trains. We are not.”

Scotland's transport minister Humza Yousaf urged both sides to keep talking and described the action as ''very disappointing''.