The train drivers union, ASLEF has announced a rolling programme of one-day strikes and a nine-day overtime ban to start early in December.
Unlike previous strikes, which affected all the train companies on the same day, this time ASLEF will stagger the strikes across different companies on different days. It’s a tactic that will guarantee them a week of news about train strikes.
In addition to the strike action, ASLEF train drivers will also refuse to work overtime from Friday 1st to Saturday 9th December, which could see short-notice service cancellations.
‘We are determined to win this dispute,” said Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary. “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.”
The strikes will last for 24 hours on the following dates:
Note — services are also likely to be disrupted on each service on the morning after the strike as well.
Saturday 2nd December
East Midlands Railway
LNER
Sunday 3rd December
Avanti West Coast
Chiltern
Great Northern Thameslink
West Midlands Railway
Tuesday 5th December
C2C
Greater Anglia
Wednesday 6th December
Gatwick Express
Southeastern
Southern
South Western Railway (SWR)
Thursday 7th December
CrossCountry
GWR
Friday 8 December
Northern
TransPennine Express
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A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: “This wholly unnecessary strike action called by the ASLEF leadership will sadly disrupt customers and businesses ahead of the vital festive period, while further damaging the railway at a time when it is still getting an extra £175m a month in taxpayer cash.
“The fair and affordable offer made by industry, which would take average driver base salaries for a 4-day week from £60,000 to nearly £65,000, remains on the table. We urge the Aslef leadership to put it to its members, give Christmas back to our passengers, and end this damaging industrial dispute.”
Union law is more strictly managed than general elections. The unions have a strong mandate to strike to get fair pay.
I know many drivers who have not had a pay rise since 2018 and worked all through Covid on the “promise” that they would be rewarded after.
Sadly that “promise” was like all other political promises, worthless. The railway companies get paid whether they run trains or not.
Presumably the £60K to £65 average increase is based on the January offer, which was “4 plus 4 percent” over two years for 2022 and 2023. Whilst that salary is already fairly high compared to many other professions I wonder if a slight increase would help get it to a members vote.
Given how long this dispute has gone on for I’d have thought the drivers would be keen to receive the backdated pay. It also won’t be much longer before the 2024 pay has to be negotiated.
I’m guessing the included “Sunday Commitment Protocol” is one of the main sticking points. Allowing “competent and trained managers” to drive trains during disruption may also be an issue, as it would reduce disruption caused by future strikes.