The train drivers union ASLEF has announced two more days of rail strikes, which are coincidentally timed to disrupt the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
ASLEF says that train drivers will walk out on Saturday 30th September and Wednesday 4th October. The union also announced an overtime ban across the UK rail network on Friday 29th September and from Monday 2nd to Friday 6th October.
While the strike will affect most train services for all travellers in England, it’s particularly timed to disrupt people arriving and leaving Manchester for the Conservative Party’s annual conference. The overtime ban will also affect anyone hoping to evade the strike by travelling a day or two on either side of the strike as there will be a large number of short-notice cancellations.
The 16 companies affected include:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- c2c
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Greater Anglia
- Great Northern
- Great Western Railway
- Island Line
- LNER
- Northern Trains
- Southeastern
- Southern
- South Western Railway
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: “While we regret having to take this action – we don’t want to lose a day’s pay, or disrupt passengers, as they try to travel by train – the government, and the employers, have forced us into this position. Our members have not, now, had a pay rise for four years – since 2019 – and that’s not right when prices have soared in that time. Train drivers, perfectly reasonably, want to be able to buy now what they could buy four years ago.”
ASLEF has, so far, called 12 one-day strikes during this 16-month dispute.
“timed to disrupt the Conservative Party conference”
Oh really?
I doubt if even 10% of those attending a conservative party conference would even have considered leaving their chauffer driven cars at home and going by public transport, even if it had been running and tweaked to take them from door to door.
I suggest you attend a conference then – the vast majority of activists and staff arrive by train.
Do the train unions really think that strike action will effect the conference the Conservatives don’t care take what you can before it’s to late
coincidentally?? it’s a political strike. Has been all along. Unions taking the public hostage. Enemies of the people.
💯 👏👏👏👏👏 they are not doctors or nurses and yet they expect sympathy from the public just for their greed and disrupting public travels.
I thought Union members were people? Just not your type eh.
I wish the Transport minister would get of his FA and negotiate directly with the unions.
I wouldn’t want to give up hard won concessions like paid holidays, overtime, pension in return for a simple pay rise.