Network Rail strike looms - your views online

Almost 90 per cent of ScotRail’s train services will be cancelled as the country is next week hit by one of the biggest strikes in 30 years, with a “very limited” Edinburgh-Glasgow service one of just five routes due to operate.

Karen G Kirkwood: So glad that we've finally got folk standing up for themselves. Thatcher tried to destroy our unions but hopefully this is the working class fighting back

Gregor Armstrong: Unions. Always plunging our country into chaos the second they get the chance. They were offered more than most workers have been offered. Plus they already make much more than the average person.

Akexandros Voridis: Maybe the average person is underpaid. I don’t think people strike for the fun of it.

The rail network is set to be hit with massive disruption next week

John Davis: Maybe if they were offered a reasonable work schedule and not expected to be rammed with overtime and just take it. I don't think the money is so much the issue as the working conditions.

Leslie Simpson: Those pesky unions, trying to get folk decent wages and conditions. They’ve made some outrageous breakthroughs over the years, they support abhorrent policies like sick pay, holiday entitlelments and worst of all they insist that employers produce contracts for employees. All in all, I'm sure you'll agree they're a bad lot.

Craig Lamb: The government is trying to persuade everyone to use public transport to commute then this happens.

Paul Taylor: The way the trains are at the moment I doubt I would notice. Absolute shambles.

Joe Clifford: It's time the population took action against these cowboys. Open to any and all suggestions. Crippling us does not make us support you. I work in the tourism industry and I’ve had to refuse roughly £5,000-worth of work because of their action. When the union in question openly advocates targeting the tourism industry, as they have in the last few weeks, they are absolutely taking away my ability to work and trust me when I say I'll fight to defend my income. Tourism is one of the largest employers in Scotland and it's being hammered – as is every other industry dependent on commuting staff. They aren't fighting the employers or the banks, they're willfully targeting a huge sector of the economy – that's a lot of weans going without Christmas or worse.

Gregor Armstrong: There’s inconvenience and there’s complete network meltdown. This seems like it’s going to be the latter. Services were already struggling. There are other methods of trying to change your working conditions. Perhaps funding can be found in order to train more staff so that we can reduce the hours of the rest. Perhaps an increase in funding is what they should be demanding rather than causing utter chaos on the railways

Peter Anderson; That's the purpose of strike action – to inconvenience.

Donald Scott: Now is the time for the public to rise up and attack the entire political regime we have in this country! This is just the start. I think there are quite a lot of protests and demonstrations organised over the next few weeks. Well worth getting involved in and see if we can topple the criminals we have in charge.

Alan Todd: My suggestion would be give them a pay rise before they feel the need to go on strike – quite out there I know.

Sadat Ali: People will just drive.

Jane Loft: Why no outrage about lack of wage restraint amongst executives?

NHS gas bill

NHS Lothian is facing a massive £8.5 million increase in its gas bill this year. Figures from the health board show gas costs tripling to £12,632,249 in 2022/23.

William Hatton: Something like what happens with fuel for agricultural use which is cheaper should have always been in place for all hospitals, care homes, homeless shelters etc.

Steve Johnston: They don't pay the same rate as the public – it is already discounted. To get it lower still they would have to negotiate with the supplier. The question is, why is energy supply outsourced, leaving us in a situation where someone else pulls the strings?

Robert Stephens: That's the benefit of being in an oil and gas-rich country when a foreign regime controls your energy supply.

Irene Wilson: They could turn down the heating – it's too hot in hospitals.

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