TRAIN drivers belonging to ASLEF – the train drivers’ trade union which represents 96% of the train drivers in England, Scotland, and Wales – will strike today at nine train companies in Britain.
ASLEF announced the one day strike, after the companies failed to make a pay offer to help their members keep up with the increase in the cost of living.
Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: ‘We don’t want to go on strike – strikes are always a last resort – but the companies, and the government, have, I’m afraid, forced our hand.
‘We don’t want to inconvenience passengers because our friends and families use public transport too, because we believe in building trust in the railways in Britain, and because we don’t want to lose money by taking industrial action.
‘But the companies have said that they cannot – or will not – give our members an increase. They blame the government – a result, they say, of the dodgy deals they did when the franchises were turned into management contracts – while the government says it’s down to the Train Operating Companies. So we are caught in a Catch-22 situation where each side blames the other.
‘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.
‘Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open for talks if the companies, or government, want to come to the negotiating table and make a sensible offer. Which, up to now, they have refused to do.’
ASLEF members at nine companies; Avanti West Coast; CrossCountry; Greater Anglia; Great Western Railway; Hull Trains; LNER; London Overground; Southeastern; and West Midlands Trains – will strike today.
We have successfully concluded pay deals this year with DB Cargo; Eurostar; Freightliner Heavy Haul; Freightliner Intermodal; GB Railfreight; Merseyrail; MTR Elizabeth line; PRE Metro Operations; and ScotRail. And we have multi-year deals already in place with other companies.
We balloted for industrial action at the companies which have not been prepared to negotiate. Ballots close at Chiltern Railways; Northern Trains; and TransPennine Express on Thursday 25 August.
