- Written by Katie Austin
- traffic correspondent
image source, Getty Images
Aslef, the main train drivers’ union, has announced a new round of strikes in a long-running pay dispute with 16 railway companies.
The suspension, which runs from Tuesday, January 30 to Monday, February 5, will affect a different operator each day.
Drivers will also refuse to work overtime from Monday, January 29th until Tuesday, February 6th.
The first strike by Aslef in the conflict was in July 2022, and the conflict is now in its third calendar year.
The Rail Transport Group, which represents rail operators, and the Department for Transport have been contacted for comment.
Which rail companies will be affected on which days?
- Tuesday 30th January: South Eastern Railway, Southern Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern Railway, Thameslink Railway, South Western Railway, SWR Island Line.
- Wednesday 31st January: Northern Train, TransPennine Express
- Friday 2nd February: Greater Anglia, C2C, LNER
- Saturday 3rd February: West Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway
- Monday 5th February: Great Western, Cross Country, Chiltern
Operators not involved in industrial action, such as ScotRail and Transport for Wales, must continue to operate normal services.
Until now, most of the railway companies involved were unable to run trains if their drivers were on strike. Some train operators appoint managers to operate the trains and operate them on a limited schedule.
There will be no strike on Thursday, February 1st and Sunday, February 4th.
Asref general secretary Mick Whelan accused ministers of not wanting to resolve the dispute and called on the government and rail companies to “come to the table with realistic proposals”.
He added that the new law introducing minimum service levels “will not alleviate industrial conflict; it will probably only make it worse.”
This law allows employers to require a certain number of staff to work to ensure certain services. For passenger rail services, that equates to 40% of the timetable.
At this time, it is unclear whether railroad companies will attempt to implement strikes for these strikes. If so, this appears to be the first test.
Neil Todd, from Thompsons Solicitors’ trade union law group, pointed out that while this option is available, there is no requirement for railway companies to use minimum service levels.
What is a strike?
Rail operators say they need to change the way they work to raise wages, given the financial challenges facing the industry and the need for fairness to taxpayers. But Aslef says drivers are being asked to sacrifice working conditions in exchange for below-inflation wage increases.
In April 2023, Aslef’s executive board awarded a 4% salary increase for the second year in a row, conditional on accepting industry-wide changes to driver training and negotiating changes to work arrangements for individual operators. refused.
No formal negotiations have taken place since then.
The government controls the amount on the table and has the final say on how much is provided. Ministers and industry negotiators continue to urge unions to give members a vote on the latest proposals.
Members of the RMT union, which represents tens of thousands of other railway workers, accepted the deal in November. This ended a series of long-running national strikes and gave staff a 5% pay increase retroactive to 2022-2023.
However, this year’s salary increases are subject to change through negotiations with individual employers. Negotiations are scheduled to begin next month.
There has been no similar progress in the Aslef dispute, with drivers voting to continue the strike until the spring.
Mr Whelan has repeatedly warned drivers that they will be embroiled in a long-term conflict.
The hospitality industry has also issued several warnings about the negative impact of strike action, particularly on businesses in urban centres.
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