Fresh rail strikes to cause misery for London commuters in run-up to Christmas
Commuters are to face yet more strike misery, after the train drivers union ASLEF announced plans for a series of one day strikes and an overtime ban in December
Train drivers will walk-out at each rail operating company for 24 hours between Saturday 2 and Friday 8 December, the union said today.
Aslef members will refuse to work overtime from Friday December 1 to Saturday 9 December. The union said the industrial action would “ratchet up the pressure” on rail operators and the government as it looks for a pay rise for its drivers.
The government argues its current pay offer would bring the average salary of a train driver to £65,000 over a four-day working week.
Routes affected include those which run to major London hubs, including the Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Avanti West Coast.
The announcement is a significant blow to government and the rail sector, which had looked to be close to resolving the dispute after the RMT union and operators reached a breakthrough agreement last week.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said he was determined to get a pay increase for train drivers. Referring to Transport Secretary Mark Harper, he said: “What the minister apparently fails to understand is that we have received overhweleming mandates, on enormous turnouts, for more industrial action.”
“Our members have spoken and we know what they think … it is a clear rejection of the offer that was made in April.”
It comes after comments from Mark Harper in a select committee hearing yesterday, that he didn’t “understand why ASLEF won’t put it [the government’s offer] to their members.”
Last Wednesday, the RMT and Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents rail operators, agreed a memorandum of understanding, which if approved by union member, would avert strikes over the busy christmas period and could conclude the 18-month long dispute.
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group today 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 loosing £3000 a day post Covid.”
“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.”
The full list of dates and routes are:
EMR and LNER on December 2; at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern Thameslink, and WMT on December 3; at C2C and Greater Anglia on December 5; at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, the SWR main line and depot, and on the Island Line on December 6; at CrossCountry and GWR on December 7; and at Northern and TPT on December 8.