Scottish Parliament – Sept. 22, 2021 – 3

S6M-01300.2: As an amendment to motion S6M-01300 in the name of Neil Bibby (ScotRail), leave out from “considers” to end and insert “welcomes the opportunity for decisions to be taken in the coming months that will shape the future of Scotland’s railways;

acknowledges the opportunity to create a national rail service that meets the country’s needs and travel patterns by building back to pre-pandemic levels but also provides for expected future demand;

thanks Scotland’s railway workers and staff for their commitment to keeping services running during unprecedented circumstances;

recognises the financial challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also believes that staff should be paid fairly and expects the employer to lead dialogue with trade unions to resolve current industrial disputes, with the aim of restoring rail services and re-establishing mutually acceptable industrial relations;

welcomes that 22 September 2021 is World Car Free Day, a day to promote and undertake alternatives to car use;

notes that Scottish ministers are committed to an affordable, clean, green, reliable and modern railway that is publicly owned and accountable, and founded on Fair Work First criteria, with representation for staff and passengers in the governance of a new public sector operator, and recognises that the Scottish Government will set out a vision for the future of Scotland’s railways based on service improvement, fair work, the decarbonisation of passenger rail services and an increase in rail freight, to help meet Scotland’s net zero ambitions.”

Original motion(S6M-01300): That the Parliament considers that decisions taken in the coming months will shape the future of Scotland’s railways for years to come;

believes there should be no overall reduction in ScotRail services, compared with pre-pandemic levels, when new timetables are introduced in 2022;

calls on Scottish ministers to reject overall service reductions;

supports Scotland’s railway workers in their current industrial disputes with ScotRail;

calls on Scottish ministers to intervene to help resolve these disputes with fair settlements for workers;

notes that 22 September 2021 is World Car Free Day, a day to promote alternatives to car use;

calls on Scottish ministers to commit to an affordable, clean, green, reliable and modern railway that is publicly owned and accountable, with representation for trade unions and passengers in governance of a new public sector operator, and believes that the Scottish Government should set out a vision for the future of Scotland’s railways based on service improvement, fair work and the decarbonisation of passenger rail services to help meet Scotland’s net zero ambitions.