Unite to hold ballot on Edinburgh Trams industrial action

Unite are to hold a consultative ballot on potential industrial action on Edinburgh Trams.

The union said that a “damaging culture of blame at Edinburgh Trams” had led to the ballot.

Unite members have said that a damaging culture of blame exists within Edinburgh Trams and that such a culture is creating a hostile environment where workers fear for their jobs.

As a result, Unite will now hold a consultative ballot with the ballot running from today.

The trade union voiced concerns over blame culture at Edinburgh Trams following the decision by management to suspend one worker and discipline others following incidents that according to the union held little risk to the public or others.

According to members, there are also inconsistencies when management deal with certain incidents.

Unite regional officer Lyn Turner said: “The management culture within Edinburgh Trams shows a pattern where the assumption of blame is the first choice of some managers.

“The management at Edinburgh Trams must know that workers cannot be motivated through blame or fear.”

“Unite accepts that safety is the primary concern at all times. However the decision by management to escalate what we see as a few incidents that did not compromise safety, to disciplinaries and sacking offences is simply unreasonable and unjust.

“These matters could have been dealt with quickly and fairly. Instead management have raised the bar and meted out punishment well beyond what was necessary which has led to the decision to ballot our members for industrial action.”

“We now have a situation where, because of the lack of rational decision-making by management, the trams may stop running. Unite is disappointed that it has come to this, but management at Edinburgh Trams should start behaving reasonably and rationally when dealing with incidents and issues.”

The Ballot will run from Wednesday 3rd October until Friday 19th October.