The St Rollox historic railway yard in 1948, photo Ben Brooksbank/CC

The St Rollox historic railway yard in 1948, photo Ben Brooksbank/CC   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Matt Dobson, Socialist Party Scotland

Over 200 skilled jobs are threatened by the possible closure of the St Rollox ‘Caley’ historic railway yard in Springburn, north east Glasgow.

Gemini Rail Services took over the Springburn site in August 2018.

But six months later, closure proposals were announced, with the company understood to want to centralise its maintenance services at a base in the south of England. The general union Unite and RMT transport union both dispute the company’s claim that the depot is loss making.

Gemini has rejected costed proposals from the trade unions for work to continue at the site.

In response, Unite and the RMT have launched a public ‘rally round the Caley’ campaign.

Local Labour MP Paul Sweeney has rightly publicly backed the trade union’s calls for nationalisation. The depot was part of nationalised British rail until 1995.

Socialist Party Scotland says:

  • Unite and the RMT should demand Gemini open the books and finances for all their sites, to trade union and workforce scrutiny. Fight all redundancies
  • Build a mass trade union-led campaign to ‘rally round the Caley’ including labour movement mass demonstrations before the consultation period ends, mobilising the local community at the works, and at the Scottish Parliament
  • Trade unions should organise mass meetings of the workforce to prepare for mass action to defend the works, including consideration of the tactic of occupation. Appeal to workers and trade unions on the sites in England for support
  • The Scottish Government should nationalise the Caley”, sack the Gemini and Abellio profiteers and bring Scotland’s railway infrastructure into public ownership