ScotRail drivers could walk out on strike for the first time in decades just weeks after the franchise passed to Scottish Government control.
Members of the ASLEF union have today rejected a pay offer from bosses after they claimed it failed to take into account the rising cost of living.
ScotRail - which operates the vast majority of passengers services north of the Border - was brought under control of SNP ministers on April 1 after a previous contract with Abellio was torn up.
The railway has been struggling to respond to the coronavirus pandemic which saw passenger numbers plummet as a result of repeated lockdowns and government calls for homeworking.
Kevin Lindsay, the union's Scotland organiser, said: "ASLEF members who have kept the country moving throughout the pandemic have been presented with a derisory pay offer from ScotRail management which takes no account of the cost of living crisis workers face.
"Train drivers did not make the decision to consider industrial action lightly - indeed we have not had a single pay dispute with Scotland’s railway operators for 21 years.
"Yet, just one month into the Scottish Government’s stewardship of ScotRail we are being left with no option but to consider action in response.
"Scotrail and the Scottish Government must recognise that these key workers deserve a decent pay rise, they should return to the negotiating table with a much fairer deal that recognises the vital work our members do."
Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour transport spokesman, said: "It has barely been a month since the SNP took control of ScotRail, and they are already threatening to plunge services into chaos.
"This is a shameful way to treat hardworking rail staff, who kept things going through the pandemic.
"The SNP have stood silently by for years while ScotRail’s management treated workers with contempt, but they have no-one to hide behind now they are in control.
"If public ownership is going to mean more than a coat of paint and a photo op the SNP need to treat workers with respect and give them a fair pay deal."
Graham Simpson, the Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman, said: "The SNP promised a bold new era when they nationalised ScotRail – but within a month they look set to transport passengers back to the 1970s.
"The public have already been saddled with combination of rising fares and a reduced service – now they are threatened with even more disruption due to strike action.
"This is quite unacceptable at a time when demand is increasing as more and more people return to normal work patterns post-pandemic.
"Ministers and ScotRail must return to the negotiating table to thrash out a deal that averts strikes or risk their much-touted nationalisation descending into chaos."
Joanne Maguire, ScotRail chief operating officer, said: "It is very disappointing that we find ourselves at this stage with ASLEF despite ongoing talks and a very good offer being made.
"We have made a pay offer that recognises the hard work of our colleagues and the cost-of-living challenges faced by families across the country.
"We are still trying to recover from the pandemic.
"With customer numbers around one third below pre-Covid levels, it remains a very challenging time for Scotland’s railway.
"We have assured ASLEF and our workforce that we remain open and committed to further discussions in order to resolve the dispute and move forward together to provide the safest, greenest, and most reliable railway we can for Scotland.”
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