Chris Price
Fri, 1 December 2023
Aslef General Secretary Mick Whelan says his members ‘are in this for the long haul’ - James Manning/PA
Train drivers represented by the Aslef union have voted overwhelmingly to continue strike action for the next six months in their ongoing dispute over pay.
Mick Whelan, the Aslef General Secretary, warned rail operators that his members “are in this for the long haul” as the latest round of industrial action got under way on Friday.
The vote is the latest blow to travellers who have been hit with 18 months of disruption since unions began their pay dispute with the Government and train operating companies.
Aslef members began a nine-day ban on working overtime on Friday which will run alongside a series of strikes across the country, beginning on Saturday.
Unlike previous strikes, different operators will walk out on different days across the country during the wave of action.
Mr Whelan said: “Our members – who have not had a pay rise for nearly five years now – are determined that the train companies – and the Tory government that stands behind them – do the right thing.
“The cost of living has soared since the spring and summer of 2019, when these pay deals ran out. The bosses at the train companies – as well as Tory MPs and government ministers – have had increases in pay.
“It’s unrealistic – and unfair – to expect our members to work just as hard for what, in real terms, is considerably less.”
The vote for further strike actions comes a day after members of the RMT union voted to accept a pay offer in a separate dispute, bringing an end to the threat of walkouts until at least the spring.
Aslef members at 12 train operators in England were re-balloted about continuing strike action, each returning huge votes in favour on high turnouts.
Rail minister Huw Merriman said: “Following RMT members voting to overwhelmingly accept the train operators’ pay offer, Aslef is now not just the only rail union still striking but the only union not to even put an offer to its members.
“They are instead choosing to cause more misery for passengers and the hospitality sector this festive period.
“The fair and reasonable offer that’s long been on the table would bring the average train driver’s salary up to £65,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week.
“Aslef’s leadership should follow in the footsteps of all the other rail unions by doing the right thing and giving their members a say on that offer.”
A spokesman for Rail Delivery Group, which represents the operators that employ the train drivers, said the vote was “disappointing”.
Fresh disruption for rail travellers as train drivers strike again
Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Fri, 1 December 2023
Rail passengers are being warned to expect disruption over the next week because of strikes and an overtime ban by train drivers in their long-running dispute over pay.
Members of Aslef at 16 train operating companies will refuse to work overtime from Friday until December 9 and will stage a series of strikes between December 2 and 8.
Train companies said they will operate as many trains as possible but there will be wide regional variations, with some operators running no services at all on strike days.
Services that are running will start later and finish much earlier than usual – typically running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
It is likely that services on some lines will be affected on the evening before and morning after each strike between December 2 and 8 because much of the rolling stock will not be in the right depots.
Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “We are going on strike again not to inconvenience passengers, but to express our disgust at the intransigence of this Government, and the bad faith shown by the private companies which employ us.
“It is clear that the Tory Government does not want to resolve this dispute. We haven’t had a meeting with Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, since December 2022.
“We haven’t had a meeting with Huw Merriman, the rail minister, since January this year, and we haven’t heard from the employers since April.
“We are prepared to come to the table and negotiate but the train operating companies and the Tories that stand behind them are not.
“This is turning into a political, rather than an industrial, dispute. They simply can’t be bothered. They are happy to see this dispute rumble on, for passengers and businesses to suffer, and to drive Britain’s railways – once the envy of the world – into a managed decline.”
Mr Whelan told the PA news agency that Aslef members remained solidly behind the campaign of industrial action after not having had a pay rise for almost five years.
(PA Graphics)
Aslef said the rolling programme of one-day strikes and overtime ban was designed to “ratchet up the pressure” on the train operators (TOCs) and the Government.
“We are determined to win this dispute and get a significant pay rise for train drivers who have not had an increase since 2019 while the cost of living, in that time, has soared.
“Our strikes have forced TOCs to cancel services and the ban on overtime has seriously disrupted the network as none of the train companies employs enough drivers to provide a proper service – the service they have promised passengers and businesses they will deliver – without asking drivers to work their rest days.”
Aslef members will strike at East Midlands Railway and LNER on Saturday December 2; at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern Thameslink, and West Midlands Trains on Sunday December 3; at C2C and Greater Anglia on Tuesday December 5; at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway and Island Line on Wednesday December 6; at CrossCountry and Great Western Railway on Thursday December 7 and at Northern and TransPennine on Friday December 8.
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: “This unnecessary and avoidable industrial action called by the Aslef leadership has been targeted to disrupt customers and businesses ahead of the vital festive period, where people will be attending events and catching up with friends and loved ones.
“It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £175 million a month in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the Covid downturn.
“The Aslef leadership are blocking a fair and affordable offer made by industry in the spring which would take average driver base salaries for a four-day week from £60,000 to nearly £65,000. We urge them to put it to its members, give Christmas back to our customers, and end this damaging industrial dispute.”
– Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union have voted to accept a deal to end their long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Fri, 1 December 2023
Rail passengers are being warned to expect disruption over the next week because of strikes and an overtime ban by train drivers in their long-running dispute over pay.
Members of Aslef at 16 train operating companies will refuse to work overtime from Friday until December 9 and will stage a series of strikes between December 2 and 8.
Train companies said they will operate as many trains as possible but there will be wide regional variations, with some operators running no services at all on strike days.
Services that are running will start later and finish much earlier than usual – typically running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
It is likely that services on some lines will be affected on the evening before and morning after each strike between December 2 and 8 because much of the rolling stock will not be in the right depots.
Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “We are going on strike again not to inconvenience passengers, but to express our disgust at the intransigence of this Government, and the bad faith shown by the private companies which employ us.
“It is clear that the Tory Government does not want to resolve this dispute. We haven’t had a meeting with Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, since December 2022.
“We haven’t had a meeting with Huw Merriman, the rail minister, since January this year, and we haven’t heard from the employers since April.
“We are prepared to come to the table and negotiate but the train operating companies and the Tories that stand behind them are not.
“This is turning into a political, rather than an industrial, dispute. They simply can’t be bothered. They are happy to see this dispute rumble on, for passengers and businesses to suffer, and to drive Britain’s railways – once the envy of the world – into a managed decline.”
Mr Whelan told the PA news agency that Aslef members remained solidly behind the campaign of industrial action after not having had a pay rise for almost five years.
(PA Graphics)
Aslef said the rolling programme of one-day strikes and overtime ban was designed to “ratchet up the pressure” on the train operators (TOCs) and the Government.
“We are determined to win this dispute and get a significant pay rise for train drivers who have not had an increase since 2019 while the cost of living, in that time, has soared.
“Our strikes have forced TOCs to cancel services and the ban on overtime has seriously disrupted the network as none of the train companies employs enough drivers to provide a proper service – the service they have promised passengers and businesses they will deliver – without asking drivers to work their rest days.”
Aslef members will strike at East Midlands Railway and LNER on Saturday December 2; at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern Thameslink, and West Midlands Trains on Sunday December 3; at C2C and Greater Anglia on Tuesday December 5; at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway and Island Line on Wednesday December 6; at CrossCountry and Great Western Railway on Thursday December 7 and at Northern and TransPennine on Friday December 8.
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: “This unnecessary and avoidable industrial action called by the Aslef leadership has been targeted to disrupt customers and businesses ahead of the vital festive period, where people will be attending events and catching up with friends and loved ones.
“It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £175 million a month in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the Covid downturn.
“The Aslef leadership are blocking a fair and affordable offer made by industry in the spring which would take average driver base salaries for a four-day week from £60,000 to nearly £65,000. We urge them to put it to its members, give Christmas back to our customers, and end this damaging industrial dispute.”
– Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union have voted to accept a deal to end their long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
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