Train drivers are to stage a fresh strike early in the new year, threatening travel disruptions as people return to work after the Christmas break.
Members of the drivers’ union Aslef at 15 train companies will walk out on 5 January, after overwhelming votes for more industrial action in the long-running dispute over pay.
Here are the RMT strike dates:
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 14 train operators are set to strike on 3, 4, 6 and 7 January – resulting in services being crippled for a week.
Which companies are affected by the Aslef strikes?
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We don’t want to go on strike but the companies have pushed us into this place.
“They have not offered our members at these companies a penny, and these are people who have not had an increase since April 2019.
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“That means they expect train drivers at these companies to take a real-terms pay cut, to work just as hard for considerably less, when inflation is running at the north of 14%.”
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The train companies have said: “Their hands have been tied by the government, while the government, which does not employ us, says it’s up to the companies to negotiate with us.”
Mr Whelan also added that they would be “happy to negotiate” and would never “refuse to sit down at the table and talk”.
But he added that “these companies have offered us nothing, and that is unacceptable”.
Aslef had to ballot members again because a mandate, under the law, is only valid for six months, and said its members voted overwhelmingly, again, to take strike action.
‘Angry and determined’
Mr Whelan added: “The resolve of our members is rock steady. A 93% ‘yes’ vote – up on the very high figure last time – on an average turnout of 85% shows that our members are in this for the long haul. It shows just how angry and determined we are.
The new mandate has now been put in place “for the next six months”, Mr Whelan said.
“The way to stop this is for the companies to make a serious and sensible offer and for the government not to put a spoke in the wheels.”
Industrial strikes are set across the country, with at least one walkout a day ahead of Christmas, as staff from different industries seek better pay.
Aslef emphasised that strikes are always a “last resort, the intransigent attitude of the train companies, with the government acting, with malice, in the shadows, has forced our hand”.
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It added: “Because these drivers, who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic, have not had a pay rise for nearly four years.”
“With inflation running at 14%, the companies and the government are saying that they want us to take a real-terms pay cut.”
Companies have been urged to “come to the table with a proper proposal” in order to prevent further strike actions.
