STUBBORN ScotRail bosses have snubbed workers’ requests for talks to avert strikes planned for next week, their union RMT revealed yesterday.

The union wrote again to ScotRail calling on the company to “stop dragging its heels” in finding a solution and to “take the safety concerns of the union and its members seriously” by returning to the negotiating table.

The dispute centres around the extension of driver-only operation (DOO) and expecting drivers to take over more safety-critical roles from other rail staff in order to downgrade their colleagues’ jobs.

The RMT opposes any extension of DOO trains, is opposed to any reduction in the role of the conductor in managing the safety of passengers on the platform and train, and believes the guard should be in full operational control of the doors.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said ScotRail’s reluctance to engage in talks was “extraordinary” given the “serious nature of this dispute.”

DOO extension “is a clear attack on our members’ hard-earned terms and conditions,” he said, adding that members should not have to “face the risk of their role and responsibilities being reduced and undermined.”

The union says instead of engaging with workers’ concerns, ScotRail has “resorted to targeting individual members through social media and junk mail in a campaign of misinformation” which had “backfired spectacularly” as members had voted overwhelmingly for strikes.

Workers are set to down tools on Tuesday, with further strikes planned for Thursday and a 48-hour walkout next weekend.

A ScotRail spokesman said: “Talks not strikes is the way forward. We’re making arrangements to meet the RMT again as soon as possible.”