Union urges transport minister to intervene as staff accuse ScotRail bosses of intimidation and overseeing toxic corporate culture

Ministers have been urged to intervene after unions representing ScotRail staff accused bosses of bullying behaviour.

Politicians and trade union officials have urged Transport Minister Michael Matheson to intervene after workers detailed an allegedly toxic corporate culture at the Dutch company which has lost the contract to run Scotland’s trains.

A confidential internal survey seen by The Sunday Post revealed that the majority of employees claim they are not treated with respect and have no confidence in their bosses.

Most say they feel managers do not treat them with respect while only 25% believe the company acts with honesty and integrity.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), a trade union that represents ScotRail workers, has written to Mr Matheson to ask him to step in after a ScotRail director was accused of shouting at a union rep. The union wants Mr Matheson to meet Abellio ScotRail managing director Alex Hynes and human resources director Gerry Skelton to discuss the situation. In response, ScotRail says the organisation has a positive relationship with the union.

Mr Matheson announced last year that a so-called “break clause” would be used to end the Abellio Scotrail franchise three years early, in 2022, amid complaints about the quality of service. The TSSA union removed its ScotRail representative Claire Johnston from duties at the company HQ after a run-in with Mr Skelton in January.

Ms Johnston said: “He started shouting that I had overstayed my welcome. He was pointing and gesticulating. One of the people there actually got up and shut the door because he was shouting so loudly.

“I was trying to be reasonable. I said ‘you can’t talk to me like this, it’s bullying’. It made him worse… He was very aggressive.”

© Steve MacDougall / DCT Media

ScotRail said there was a discussion between Gerry Skelton and Ms Johnston after she was still in HQ 45 minutes after the three hours she had been given to speak to staff.

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said: “In January ScotRail’s HR director Gerry Skelton launched an unprovoked verbal attack, in front of witnesses, on one of TSSA’s female officers whilst she carried out legitimate recruitment activities in Atrium Court. My complaint to ScotRail about Mr Skelton’s behaviour was not addressed.”

Mr Cortes said that, in 2018 ScotRail’s MD Alex Hynes had also had an angry confrontation with Ms Johnston – the only female trade union officer working within ScotRail – after a meeting, shouting and pointing a finger at her, and threatening to exclude her from future meetings.

After the incident involving Mr Hynes, Mr Matheson’s predecessor as transport minister Humza Yousaf met TSSA officers and committed to ensuring there would be anti-bullying training for senior management in ScotRail, and a safe space for staff who wanted to report bullying.

“Neither measure was followed up,” Mr Cortes said. “Our members in ScotRail have often come to us with complaints about bullying in the company. To date, despite Mr Yousaf’s commitments, there has been no serious attempt to tackle the problem at an institutional level.

“TSSA is serious about wanting a positive environment in ScotRail in which bullying is taken seriously, and stopped, at every level.”

“There is no place for workplace bullying in the 21st Century.

“We hope that Michael Matheson agrees with us about this. If he does, he must intervene and get Alex Hynes and Gerry Skelton around a table to tackle this toxic culture.”

MSPs have now urged Michael Matheson to act and ensure previous commitments made by his predecessor are put in place.

Scottish Labour’s transport spokesperson Colin Smyth said: “Michael Matheson should intervene to ensure any allegation of bullying is taken seriously.

“If previous commitments made by ministers have not been followed through just because a minister has changed, that isn’t good enough.

“It isn’t the frontline staff… who are to blame for the big rail firms failing Scotland’s passengers.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Mike Rumbles said: “If there is any suspected mistreatment of staff the transport minister has a duty to intervene.

“For years, the Scottish Government turned a blind eye to the declining performance of rail services under Abellio… it was only under political and public pressure that the minister agreed to remove the current franchise contract.”

The transport spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, Dean Lockhart MSP, said: “Bullying staff is completely unacceptable in any workplace.

“The staff’s lack of confidence in senior directors is also deeply concerning and something that has to be dealt with.”

Abellio ScotRail said: “We are absolutely committed to working with trade unions and value the positive contribution they make in representing our people.

“The TSSA requested they visit ScotRail headquarters and that was facilitated, allowing them to engage with staff.

“These allegations completely misrepresent our ongoing commitment to working with them to ensure the best possible conditions for everyone working with ScotRail.”

Transport Scotland said: “Employee relations are a matter for Network Rail, ScotRail and the union concerned. The Scottish Government sets clear diversity and equality policies, we look to our contractors to strive to set similar standards.”

The survey: Workers’ vote of no confidence in chiefs

An internal staff survey seen by The Sunday Post shows a majority of workers have little confidence in the abilities of ScotRail directors.

Staff were asked to rate decisions made by the leadership on a scale of one to five, with one being not at all confident and five being very confident.

Nine out of 10 workers selected option one, two or three, while just 3% were very confident in the abilities of directors.

Staff surveyed were also asked how they feel about working at ScotRail and 23% said irritated, 18% said disconnected and 11% said they felt anxious.

When asked if staff are treated with respect at ScotRail, just 40% of workers agreed with the statement.

When asked if ScotRail conducts its business activities with honesty and integrity only 25% agreed.

Scottish Liberal Democrats transport spokesman Mike Rumbles MSP said: “This internal survey shows that staff at ScotRail have been very frustrated with the management of the company and morale is extremely low. These claims of a culture of bullying at the company will only make matters far worse.”

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Four ScotRail staff members, current and former, spoke to The Sunday Post to reveal concerns about the management culture:

Worker 1

I left last year because I was fed up with the bullying issues they were ignoring. I was overruled at every turn by my bosses despite me being a manager. You weren’t allowed to take a decision and if you did you were put down or insulted. You were made to feel inadequate. I left because I was sick of it. I didn’t want to go to work because it really wasn’t a happy place to work.

We were treated as whipping boys when anything went wrong despite us having years of experience. It was quite depressing in the last couple of years. It was a horrible place. And if you complained your card was marked. I put in a full report and nothing was done about it. It went to the HR department and they said there were irreconcilable differences and I would need to go.

I took a package, but I had no option. I’m happy now I’m away. It was a poisonous atmosphere.

Worker 2

What tends to happen is every department has a restructure every couple of years and if you’ve made a complaint you’ll be manipulated out.

I’m very, very conscious that it could happen to me very soon because I made a complaint about intimidation and underhand behaviour.

It can be a sideways move or demotion – they use the term displaced… a very clever way of pushing people out that they don’t want after they’ve complained about things.

There’s just a very bad culture in the company.

I get the impression that senior management think they’re above the rules. And it makes for a toxic culture.

Worker 3

I was nearly 40 years in the railways and about 20 years of that I was a manager. Some new senior managers resented the experienced managers. I was in a meeting with one and he started swearing at me because he didn’t like my opinions.

Some of the senior managers… would tell you that if anyone crossed them, they would take their time and get them back.

Then they would start bullying you about your abilities, even though they had never raised any issues in the past. I put a complaint in along with other people and the bullying got worse, but HR said there was no case to answer.

It was sometimes subtle bullying. And it breaks you eventually. That’s why I left.

Worker 4

The bullying is coming from the top down. There are people with little or no scruples. If you put a complaint in it goes nowhere. You’re talking timescales of months and months before it’s looked at and 99.9% of them are not upheld.

The system is flawed. They nearly always take the side of the manager. It’s the same with disciplinary appeals.

Then, if you kick back, they will try to get you out the door. It can be career-ending to complain so most people have to put up and shut up.