UK

Train strikes 2023: List of London rail services to be hit by September ASLEF and RMT action

Ben Lynch
Tue, 29 August 2023 

A RMT flag flies at a picket line outside Euston Station. Credit: Hollie Adams/Getty Images.

Londoners are set for more days of travel disruption in September due to two days of planned industrial action.

The ASLEF and RMT unions have announced they will be taking action due to ongoing disputes with the government and Rail Delivery Group over pay.

ASLEF has announced a strike on September 1 and an overtime ban on 16 train companies across the country on September 2, while 20,000 RMT members will also be striking on September 2.

ASLEF members will also be taking part in September action. Credit: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images.


The combined action is expected to cause widespread disruption across the UK’s services.
Which train companies are going to be affected?

Most of the train companies due to be impacted by the action run services in and out of London. According to Network Rail, all of them will be affected on both days, September 1 and 2.

They are: Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, c2c, Great Western Railway, Chiltern Railways, Southeastern, Gatwick Express, Southern, Thameslink, Heathrow Express, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, South Western Railway, LNER and London Northwestern Railway.
What have the unions said?

Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: “We don’t want to take this action but the train companies, and the government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place because they refuse to sit down and talk to us and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer to train drivers who have not had one for four years – since 2019 – while prices have soared in that time by more than 12%.

Mr Whelan accused the government of being “happy to let this drift on and on. But we are determined to get a fair pay rise for men and women who haven’t had one for four years while inflation has reached double figures. Our members, perfectly reasonably, want to be able to buy now what they could buy back in 2019.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The mood among our members remains solid and determined in our national dispute over pay, job security and working conditions.

“We have had to call further strike action as we have received no improved or revised offer from the Rail Delivery Group.

“The reason for this is the government has not allowed them a fresh mandate on which discussions could be held.

“Our members and our union will continue fighting until we can reach a negotiated and just settlement.”
What have the train companies said?

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson previously told LondonWorld staff were offered a 13% pay rise which was “blocked without a convincing explanation” by the RMT executive.

“With further strike action the RMT are once again targeting customers looking to enjoy various sporting events, festivals, and the end of the summer holidays, disrupting their plans and forcing more cars onto the road,” the spokesperson said.

“We have now made three offers, the latest of which would have given staff pay rises of up to 13% as well as job security guarantees and the RMT executive have blocked this without a convincing explanation.

“We remain open to talks and we have said repeatedly that we want to give our people a pay rise, but until the union leadership and executive is united in what it wants and engages in good faith with the 30% shortfall in revenue the industry is continuing to grapple with post-Covid, it is difficult to move forward.

“Unfortunately, the repercussion of this impasse affects our staff, customers, and the communities across the country that rely on the railway.”
What has the government said?

A Department for Transport spokesperson said the government has facilitated “fair and reasonable pay offers.

“However, union bosses are opting to prolong this dispute by blocking their members from having a vote on these offers. We continue to urge that members are given their say and disruption is brought to an end.”