Drivers at eight rail operators across UK to halt work and strike on July 30

Train drivers at eight rail companies will strike on July 30 in a dispute over pay, their union Aslef announced.

The strike – which marks the train drivers’ first national walkout since 1995 – comes on the heels of RMT members at Network Rail and 14 other operators walking out on 27 July after they rejected a “paltry” offer from Network Rail.

Avanti West Coast’s platform and ticketing staff will join on the same day.

The train drivers’ industrial action will impact services on Chiltern, GWR, LNER,  London Overground, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine and West Midlands.

Aslef’s decision is the latest straw in what many call the UK’s “summer of discontent,” which threatens to bring the country to a standstill.

General secretary Mick Whelan said the union had been forced into “this position by the train companies, driven by the Tory government.”

“Strike action is, now, the only option available but we are always open to talks if the train companies, or the government, want to talk to us and make a fair and sensible offer,” he said.

The general secretary appeared yesterday in front of Parliament’s transport select committee and said strikes were about workers “not being deteriorated, not being degraded, not falling further behind.”

Commenting on the announcement, transport secretary Grant Shapps said “cynically” orchestrated disruption would cause “as much misery as possible” to hundreds of thousands of Britons attending the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. 

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson added the industry needed to adapt to a post-pandemic world, changing “long-outdated working practices.”

“We want to give our people an increase in pay, but asking taxpayers to shoulder even more of the burden […] or asking passengers to fund it by paying more for their tickets, isn’t fair or sustainable.”    

Centre for London’s chief executive Nick Bowes, on the other hand, called on unions and the government to work together and “reach an agreement that allows the capital’s transport to continue smoothly.”

Aslef announced the ballot’s results on Monday and reported that members voted around 9-1 in favour of walking out, on turnouts of more than 80 per cent.