Ferry pay talks resume

CalMac and the union will meet again next week

Ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne and the RMT union have resumed talks in an effort to end the current pay dispute.

The meeting with the ferry company at a hotel in Glasgow on Friday was arranged after Western Isles MSP Alastair Morrison and Allan Wilson, who represents Cunninghame North,
stepped in to act as middlemen.

Mr Morrison said he hoped the meeting, which is set to be followed up with more talks on Monday and Tuesday, could lead to the union balloting its members on a deal by Tuesday.

On Friday morning it looked like the two sides had reached a stalemate, with CalMac spokesman Hugh Dan MacLennan claiming that RMT general secretary Bob Crow's intervention in the dispute was "unlawful".

He also said the company would not meet Mr Crow under current circumstances.

Any confusion around negotiating procedures has now been cleared up Bob Crow, RMT union

Meanwhile, Mr Crow had described the deal proposed earlier this week as "unacceptable" and containing "more strings than a symphony orchestra".

But when the MSPs met the union leader on Friday afternoon, they contacted senior management at CalMac and the two sides agreed to go back to the negotiating table.

During talks held last Friday and on Monday and Tuesday this week, the two sides had hammered out a deal consisting of a 4.5% pay rise this year, including a 1.5% performance-related element.

Workers were also to receive a rise linked to inflation plus 1.5% next year under the deal, on which they were set to be balloted.

Mr MacLennan said he would only comment on the situation once the meeting had ended.

'Moral obligation'

Speaking ahead of the negotiations, Mr Morrison said: "They're coming back to the negotiating table because they know it's in the workers' interest and it's in the interests of islanders.

"Both sides are morally obliged to sit down together."

Mr Crow said: "We have had a fruitful discussion with the company and it is pleasing that we are now back on track to reach a negotiated settlement."

He added: "Any confusion around negotiating procedures has now been cleared up and we can now get back to the matter at hand - reaching a fair pay deal for our members."