Four-day stoppage on city subway

Subway workers protest outside Hillhead station in Glasgow

A four-day shutdown of Glasgow's subway has begun after union officials and management failed to reach agreement in a long-running dispute over pay.

The T&G union put forward new proposals which Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) said it would consider before a further meeting is held next Thursday.

The union said some progress had been made at Thursday's talks.

Free bus services will operate from 0630 to 2330 BST Friday to Monday, and from 1100 to 1800 on Sunday.

They will run from Govan station to Partick station and from Shields Road station to St Enoch station.

First ScotRail will accept subway multi-journey and season tickets between Queen Street/Buchanan Street and Partick.

SPT wants to get future dispute resolution sorted out by escalating the current one T&G spokesman

SPT said it was "unfortunate" that the strike - which will affect thousands of commuters, including people travelling to Sunday's Old Firm match at Ibrox - was going ahead.

The action is the latest in a series of stoppages in a long-running dispute involving members of the T&G union over pay and working conditions.

A spokesman for the T&G said he believed the two sides were moving towards a resolution of the dispute.

The union said the main sticking point was SPT's desire to link the pay claim to proposed changes in the way that disputes are resolved.

The real difficulty for us is that there isn't any more money available David McLavin SPT

The T&G has suggested that the two issues are separated so that a deal can be reached on wages.

"SPT wants to get future dispute resolution sorted out by escalating the current one, and we are saying get the pay sorted out and then we can talk about that sensibly," said the spokesman.

David McLavin, of Strathclyde Passenger Transport, told BBC Radio Scotland that both sides had been trying hard to reach a settlement.

He said: "We've put two improved offers to staff and put together a package of terms and conditions.

"The real difficulty for us is that there isn't any more money available to pay for an increased pay rise.

"What we are having to do instead is seek improvements in productivity and flexibility to pay for that increase."

SPT said that its offer would give drivers a guaranteed income of £19,848 by 2006/07, with station masters receiving £19,653 and station assistants picking up £16,107.