Drivers facing traffic chaos as Clyde Tunnel staff threaten strike action

More than 60,000 drivers a day face traffic chaos as a strike vote threatens to close one of Scotland’s busiest roads.

GMB Scotland is to ballot the team controlling the Clyde Tunnel in Glasgow on industrial action after a council pay offer was overwhelmingly rejected.

Glasgow City Council is being given notice of the formal vote on strikes today as the union warns action could shut down the tunnel linking the north and south of Scotland’s biggest city.

Workers in the control room at Whiteinch, on the north bank of the river, monitor a battery of cameras 24 hours a day, control ventilation, and respond to breakdowns and other emergencies.

Their work is vital to the safe operation of the tunnel, bored beneath the river bed before opening in 1963.

Used by 65,000 cars, vans and lorries a day, it underpins the economy of Scotland’s biggest city.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said the tunnel team was the first council workforce to be balloted by the union as it plans a strategic campaign of industrial action to secure an improved pay offer for members in Scotland’s local authorities.

He said: “The workers at the Clyde Tunnel ensure thousands of motorists travel safely and without delay every day.

“They keep the city moving and without their expertise and experience, one of Scotland’s most important roads could close with untold disruption.”

Greenaway said a 3% offer made to council workers was clearly unacceptable and, unless it is improved, industrial action seems inevitable.

He said: “The offer is nowhere close to matching the commitment of council workers, adding pennies to the hourly rate paid to the lowest-paid staff.

“The frontline roles of our members on the Clyde Tunnel and their colleagues across Scotland’s councils deserve to be properly recognised and fairly rewarded.

“They have been offered an annual increase below inflation as household bills continue to climb.

“No one, not least the councils, could have been surprised when it was overwhelmingly rejected and they should not be surprised when our members take whatever action is necessary to be paid fairly.”

GMB Scotland, one of the biggest unions in the public sector, will notify the Glasgow council today with the formal vote on strike action at the Tunnel, linking Whiteinch and Govan on the south bank of the Clyde, starting next week.

It comes after a consultative ballot of GMB Scotland members in councils revealed 96% of those voting backed walkouts if Cosla, representing the local authorities, did not improve the 3% offer.

The union is now planning to formally ballot specific workforces, starting with the Clyde Tunnel, in support of its pay claim for £1 an hour or 6.5%.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: “We will await the outcome of the ballot and officers will continue to engage with unions.”