Train drivers seek to put ‘dent’ in cost of living in pay talks
Train drivers in England will look to “put a dent” in the cost of living over the past few years when they negotiate their next pay settlement, according to the head of their union.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), told the i Paper any proposed rise was to make up for earnings lost due to the cost-of-living crisis.
A deal agreed last year with then-transport secretary Louise Haigh, after a two-year dispute, saw the 4.5 per cent rise in 2024-25, the final stage of an agreement stretching back over three years.
Mr Whelan said he did not want to “appear antagonistic” at the start of talks on the next pay settlement.
“My view is, quite simply, would we like more than we got from Louise? Yes, we would. We always said it wasn’t about massive increases,” he told the i.
“What we said was about putting a dent in the cost of living for the previous five years.”
Mr Whelan defended salaries paid to his members, saying he did not think other people are paid enough and that wages for nurses, firefighters and prison officers made him “distraught”.
“My real problem is, I actually don’t think other people get paid enough,” he said. “If we don’t take a pay rise, will these companies give it to others?”
Mr Whelan warned about problems with rail workers on “different conditions” when they are brought together from different companies to form the newly created Great British Railways (GBR) as the Government looks to nationalise the industry in England and Wales.
Strikes planned by workers on Avanti West Coast over the next two Sundays have been called off to allow for talks to take place.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have been taking industrial action in a dispute over rest-day working.
Future strikes are still in place.
Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said: “This is a stark reminder of what happens under Labour – union paymasters make astonishing demands, Labour bows the knee at every opportunity, and it’s the British public that suffer the consequences.”
Press Association