Train drivers at eight railway firms vote in favour of industrial action
Train drivers will join the wave of industrial action that has brought the country to a standstill as members of the union Aslef at eight operators have voted in favour of industrial action.
No dates have been announced yet, but if it were to go ahead, the industrial action will hit services on Chiltern, GWR, LNER, London Overground, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine and West Midlands.
Aslef members at these companies voted by around 9-1 in favour of strikes on turnouts of more than 80 per cent.
Arriva Rail London drivers voted overwhelmingly to strike , with 98.9 percent of members agreeing to walk out while 92.3 per cent of Chiltern drivers supported action.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: “Strikes are always the last resort. We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, too – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies driven by the government.”
Many of the union’s members had not had a pay rise 2019, despite working during the pandemic, Whelan added.
With historic levels of inflation, drives had effectively had a real term pay cut over the past three years, the union boss argued.
“We want an increase in line with the cost of living – we want to be able to buy, in 2022, what we could buy in 2021,” Whelan said.
The result was proof that “across every grade from cleaners, catering staff guards, maintenance staff and drivers are fed up with real terms pay cuts, attacks on job security and working conditions,” RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said, in response to the Aslef result.
However, transport minister Grant Shapps said it was not “fair” for train drivers “to hurt those on lower wages with more walk outs,” pointing to drivers’ £60,00 salaries.
The ballot comes on the same day ticketing officers at Network Rail and Southeastern are to publish the results of their ballot.
Businesses have recently warned that if train drivers were to walk out, it would have a significant impact on both the capital and the country’s economy.
“At a time when London businesses are facing several crises – including increasing costs, rising inflation and adapting to hybrid working – it’s important that government and rail unions work together to find a mutual solution,” Ruth Duston, chief executive of London HQ, told City PM
“It’s always businesses – including the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors that are the most impacted by these disruptions.”
Duston’s comments were echoed by Richard Burge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) who called the prospect of an umpteenth strike “hugely worrying for businesses across the UK.”
“Strikes are a lose-lose situation for everyone involved and the last thing businesses need during the current cost of doing business crisis,” he told City PM last week.