Train drivers from 8 UK rail companies vote to strike

Train drivers in Britain have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a pay strike, raising the threat of a huge disruption to train services this summer.

Members of the Aslef drivers' union from eight railway companies supported industrial action campaigns.

Aslef members at Chiltern, LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express, Arriva Rail London, Great Western, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains voted around 9 to 1 in favor of turnout strikes over 80%.

Mick Whelan, General Secretary of Aslef, said: "Strikes are always the last resort.

"We don't want to bother passengers: our friends and families also use public transport and we don't want to lose money by going on strike, but we have been forced into this position by the companies run by the government. government.

"Many of our members - who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods across the country during the pandemic - haven't had a pay raise since 2019.

"With inflation north of 10%, that means these drivers have taken a real pay cut over the past three years.

"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.

"It is not unreasonable to ask your employer to ensure that your situation does not worsen for three consecutive years.

"Especially as the rail companies are doing very well, thank you, on British Railways, with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders and big salaries for managers."

A Department of Transport spokesman said: "It is very disappointing that, rather than engaging in a serious dialogue with the industry, Aslef is first seeking to cause further misery for passengers by joining with others to disrupt the rail network.

“The train drivers they represent earn, on average, just under £60,000 a year, more than double the UK median wage and far more than the workers who will be most affected by these strikes.

“Our railway is in desperate need of modernization so that it works better for passengers and is financially sustainable in the long term.

"We urge union bosses to reconsider and work with their employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward."

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: "We want to see rail unions engage with rail operators on the reforms needed to ensure a bright long-term future for the industry, including working with Aslef to provide the most punctual, reliable service that we know passengers care about.

"Instead of further disrupting passengers and businesses, we urge Aslef leaders to continue the talks."

Meanwhile, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association announced that hundreds of its members at Southeastern have voted for strikes and other forms of industrial action over wages, job security and conditions.

The union is not giving dates for industrial action today, but will now discuss next steps with workplace representatives.

General Secretary Manuel Cortes said: "This is a great result for our union and follows similar votes in a series of other rail operating companies, with expected results from our Network Rail members shortly.

"The results show that our members are totally committed to fighting for their wages, their jobs and their conditions.

"They are right to do so amid the Tories' escalating cost of living crisis and with a chaotic government determined to make sweeping cuts to our rail network as inflation rages on.< /p>

"It would be unwise for a railway company to ignore the feelings of our members.

"We will speak to our workplace representatives soon to consider next steps in the coming days.

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"If ministers had any common sense, they would come to the table and fix this, so that we have a fair settlement for the workers who have been hailed as heroes of the pandemic."

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: 'We congratulate our friends at Aslef on their superb result on the ballot and the huge mandate they have for the railway strike.

“It shows that railway workers at all levels, whether cleaners, catering staff, guards, maintenance staff and drivers, are fed up with pay cuts in real terms, attacks on job security and working conditions.

"When railway unions and others unite, they are an irresistible force in the workplace and in society at large.

“Grant Shapps (Transport Secretary) needs to stop playing games with his doomed Tory leadership bid and focus back on resolving this dispute.

"He continues to prevent Network Rail and the rail companies from reaching an agreement with the RMT, which we have done repeatedly and successfully since privatization in 1993.

"Mr. Shapps should either walk around the table or step aside...