Register for Simon Calder’s complimentary travel newsletter to receive professional tips and exclusive savings opportunities.
Receive emails from Simon Calder’s Travel newsletter
Additional disruptions to travel are expected as train operators from 16 rail companies plan to go on strike again in April.
Employees who are part of the Aslef union will participate in strikes lasting one day between 5th and 8th April. This coincides with a restriction on working overtime on 4th-6th and 8th-9th April.
The union expressed its desire to further escalate the pressure on the uncooperative train companies and the unsympathetic government, in response to the ongoing strikes that have been taking place for the past 20 months.
London Waterloo during Aslef’s previous strike in January 2024
According to Aslef, train operators have not received a salary increase since April 2019.
On April 5th, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, and CrossCountry will experience the initial impact of the strikes. The following day, Chiltern Railways, GWR, LNER, Northern, and TransPennine will also be affected.
The strikes on April 8th will impact train services for c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway’s main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line.
The strike on April 8th is happening at the same time as a protest by train conductors on the London Underground due to a different disagreement about their job requirements and benefits.
The general secretary of Aslef, Mick Whelan, stated that due to the restrictive anti-union laws imposed by the Tories, they were required to ballot their members every six months. As a result, they announced new mandates for industrial action last month. They have urged the train companies and the government to engage in productive discussions to negotiate a fair wage increase for train drivers who have not received a raise since 2019.
“Our constituents overwhelmingly voted, once again, in favor of taking strike action.”
According to Mr. Whelan, the previous proposal given to members is no longer valid, and the union has not received any communication from officials, including the transport secretary, since the announcement of new strike mandates four weeks ago.
A representative from the Rail Delivery Group stated: “It is unfortunate when strikes cause harm to individuals and their income. We will make every effort to limit inconvenience for our passengers.”
“We aim to find a solution to this conflict, however it is important for the Aslef leaders to understand that taxpayers are currently bearing an additional cost of £54 million per week in order for services to continue running post-Covid. We are actively working towards reaching a mutual understanding with the Aslef leadership and are open to further discussions to resolve this issue.”
The Independent has reached out to the Department for Transport for a response.
Source: independent.co.uk
