‘WE HAVE had massive support from the public,’ the ASLEF rep Lucio Buffone told News Line when he spoke out on the well-attended picket line at Paddington Station in central London on Saturday morning.
There were picket lines outside railway stations all over the country as drivers at nine train privateers – Avanti West Coast; CrossCountry; Greater Anglia; Great Western Railway; Hull Trains; LNER; London Overground; Southeastern; and West Midlands Trains – took 24-hour strike action which brought the rail network to a standstill.
‘We have been through the pandemic, praised as key workers, and are now not prepared to see our living standards being reduced as inflation rises massively,’ Buffone continued.
‘The company has offered us nothing and with inflation 10 per cent and more it is a wage cut.’
On the picket line at Willesden Junction ASLEF rep Malcolm told News Line: ‘The company Arriva Rail London are refusing to negotiate a pay increase with the unions, not just ASLEF but with the RMT and TSSA as well.
‘This is after the company received money in accordance with the RPI rate of inflation from TFL, paid out to shareholders and also made £7million profit.
‘We have to take this action. We are losing pay but energy prices have doubled and our kids are going to need school uniforms and we must get a pay increase.
‘We have had letters threatening redundancies from the company, just like the post office workers, but we won’t back down.
‘I would fully support a general strike with other unions.’
ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan: ‘The drivers at these nine companies have not had an increase for three years – since April 2019.
‘That means, with inflation running at 9%, 10%, or even 11%, according to which index you use, and predicted to go even higher, that we are being told to take a real terms pay cut. And that is not acceptable.’
