Aslef union practice drivers to strike once more over pay
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rain drivers are to stage a recent strike within the long-running dispute over pay, threatening extra journey chaos for passengers.
Members of Aslef will stroll out on September 1 and can ban extra time on September 2, the identical day as a strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
Aslef stated its strike will power practice firms throughout England to cancel all providers, whereas the ban on extra time will “seriously disrupt” the community.
The union maintains that not one of the privatised train-operating firms employs sufficient drivers to supply a “proper service” with out drivers engaged on their days off.
The firms affected are Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; c2c; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway; Greater Anglia; GTR Great Northern Thameslink; Great Western Railway; Island Line; LNER; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Southern/Gatwick Express; South Western Railway; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains.
Mick Whelan, Aslef common secretary, stated: “We don’t want to take this action but the train companies, and the Government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place because they refuse to sit down and talk to us and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer to train drivers who have not had one for four years – since 2019 – while prices have soared in that time by more than 12%.
“The Government appears happy to let passengers – and businesses – suffer in the mistaken belief that they can bully us into submission.
“They don’t care about passengers, or Britain’s railway, but they will not break us.
“Train drivers at these companies have not had a pay rise for four years, since 2019, while inflation has rocketed,
“We haven’t heard a word from the employers – we haven’t had a meeting, a phone call, a text message, or an email – since April 26 and we haven’t had any contact with the government since January 6.
“This shows how the contempt in which the companies, and the government, hold passengers and staff and public transport in Britain.
“They are happy to let this drift on and on, but we are determined to get a fair pay rise for men and women who haven’t had one for four years while inflation has reached double figures.
“Our members, perfectly reasonably, want to be able to buy now what they could buy back in 2019.
It will be the 12th one-day strike by Aslef members since the dispute started over a year ago.
Mr Whelan warned of further industrial action if the deadlocked row continues, saying Aslef members were pressing the union to go “harder and faster.”
Further strike motion by the Aslef management is pointless and can trigger extra disruption to passengers trying to take pleasure in varied sporting occasions and the tip of the summer season holidays.
The RMT can also be putting on August 26 in its dispute over pay, jobs and circumstances.
The Rail Delivery Group suggested passengers that as a result of RMT strikes there shall be decreased providers throughout the rail community on August 26 and September 2.
An announcement stated: “Train companies are doing all they can to keep passengers moving, but those travelling during that period are advised to plan ahead and check before they travel.
“RMT union members such as station staff, train managers, and catering staff will participate in the strikes, causing some disruption to travel plans.
“As the level of disruption will vary across the country, passengers are advised to check their travel arrangements in advance. We expect that more than half of the service will be running across the country.”
The strikes are prone to see trains begin later and end a lot sooner than regular, with solely round half of providers in some areas, whereas different components of the nation can have fewer or no providers in any respect.
It is probably going that night providers on some traces shall be affected on the times earlier than every strike and on the mornings after strike days.
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson stated: ”Further strike motion by the Aslef management is pointless and can trigger extra disruption to passengers trying to take pleasure in varied sporting occasions and the tip of the summer season holidays.
“The union leadership has its head in the sand and refuses to put our fair and reasonable offer to their members.
“The offer would increase the average driver base salary for a four-day week without overtime from £60,000 to nearly £65,000 by the end of 2023.
“We want to give our staff a pay increase, but it has always been linked to implementing necessary, sensible reforms that would enhance services for our customers.
“We urge the Aslef leadership to acknowledge the substantial financial challenges facing the rail industry and work with us to achieve a more dependable and robust railway system for the future.”
The rail unions are additionally campaigning towards controversial plans to shut most railway ticket workplaces.
More than 300,000 folks have responded to a session, which ends on September 1.
A Department for Transport spokesperson stated: “The Government has played its part to try and end these disputes by facilitating fair and reasonable pay offers, taking train drivers’ average salaries from £60,000 to £65,000, but union leaders refuse to give their members a vote.
“Aslef and the RMT are coordinating their strikes to try and cause as much disruption as they can, deliberately targeting the Bank Holiday weekend – which for many, is the last weekend of the school summer holidays.”