, with a 48-hour walkout by workers on the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern rail lines In 2024, workers on the Southern, Thameslink, and Great Northern railways have initiated a new round of protests by going on strike for 48 hours.

The most recent episode of strikes on the railway is currently taking place.

The members of Aslef, the union for train drivers, have placed a restriction on working overtime at LNER and Northern on February 29th and March 2nd. Northern has cautioned passengers to anticipate disturbances. Many LNER trains on the East Coast main line are either cancelled or shortened as a result of the labor protest.

Train drivers from both train operators will be going on strike on Friday, March 1st, which will result in the cancellation of all Northern trains and most LNER services.

These walk-outs are unconnected with the continuing pay and conditions dispute at the heart of the national rail strikes that began in the summer of 2022. Since then, hundreds of millions of journeys have been cancelled. Billions of pounds have been lost to the UK economy, particularly hospitality businesses – and taxpayers are subsidising an increasingly decrepit and unreliable railway to the tune of £90 per second on top of the normal subsidy.

In the last 19 months, the ongoing strikes have not resulted in any advancements in the disagreement between Aslef and the 14 rail companies overseen by the UK government and represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

According to a quick survey on social media conducted by The Independent, 2,142 people responded and one third of them stated that they will decrease their travel permanently once the industrial action is resolved.

Here are the main inquiries and responses.

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The national rail strikes have been ongoing for what may seem like an eternity to many passengers. However, they actually began in the summer of 2022, making them the first nationwide rail walkouts since the 1980s. These strikes involve the government-controlled operations of 14 English rail firms.

The main issue causing conflict is the rail unions wanting a pay raise with no conditions, while ministers believe any raise should come from improving train efficiency.

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The RMT, a major rail union, has paused its strike campaign. However, Aslef, a smaller yet dominant union for train drivers, remains far from reaching an agreement.

Ever since the conflict began, Aslef has initiated numerous strikes and prohibited work on days off. The most recent nationwide strike by train operators, which included a ban on overtime and localized walk-outs, lasted for a total of nine days from January 29th to February 6th.

The goal of implementing intermittent strikes and prohibiting work on rest days is to create significant disturbance while minimizing the impact on wages.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) estimates that the rail sector has suffered a loss of approximately £775 million in revenue due to strikes between June 2022 and mid-January 2024. This amount does not take into account the additional loss of £50 million to £60 million from the latest strikes.

UKHospitality has calculated that establishments in the food, beverage, and accommodation industries have suffered a loss of nearly £5 billion. According to Kate Nicholls, the chief executive, the continuous strikes have negatively impacted businesses, hindered employee commutes, and greatly diminished trust in the railway system.

Moreover, there is an unpredictable decrease in income from individuals who have modified their daily routines or switched to different modes of transportation; companies that have halted their travel plans and are utilizing virtual means of communication; and individuals reducing their travel due to the uncertainty of the situation.

The train conductors are requesting a salary increase to account for the significant inflation rate since their last pay raise. Aslef reports that certain members have not received a raise for a period of five years.

However, the government maintains that any salary hike, no matter how small, is dependent on significant modifications to established work agreements to decrease expenses – and the nearly £250 per second funding the railway currently receives from taxpayers. This amount is 43% higher than the usual subsidy stated by the government.

Due to the global health crisis, there has been a shift in the way people travel. Ticket sales have decreased by approximately 20% compared to before the pandemic. The government will be responsible for covering any salary increases for train drivers, so both the Treasury and Department for Transport must approve any agreements.

The government officials are of the opinion that the contracts and arrangements of train drivers contribute to the issue. In order to reduce expenses, they must be willing to make adjustments to their work, such as incorporating Sundays into their regular work week across all areas.

On April 27, 2023, the Rail Delivery Group proposed a salary raise of 4% for two years, which would cover the 2022 and 2023 pay awards. This offer is contingent upon several modifications to terms and conditions, including but not limited to driver training, Sunday work, sick leave, and implementation of new technology.

The labor organization states that this is completely unsatisfactory. The locomotive operators will discuss potential modifications, but only after receiving a fair pay offer that is not contingent on any conditions, in addition to their current salary of around £60,000 per year. They are confident that the funds will be available to meet their requests, as it has been in the past. Additionally, Aslef has consistently negotiated changes in work arrangements for a slight increase in pay and has no plans to alter this practice.

There have been no productive discussions since the spring of 2023, resulting in repeated strikes by train operators and causing most trains to stop running in England. Caught in the middle are the passengers.

Aslef is currently in conflict with the train companies that have been hired by the government to offer railway services. They include:

Avanti West Coast

CrossCountry

East Midlands Railway

is a British train company that operates intercity, commuter, and rural services in the UK

GWR is a railway company based in Britain that provides transportation services for intercity, commuter, and rural areas throughout the UK.

LNER

TransPennine Express

C2C

Greater Anglia

The abbreviation stands for Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, and Thameslink.

Southeastern

The South Western Railway, which also includes the Island Line on the Isle of Wight.

Chiltern Railways

Northern Trains

West Midlands Railway (including London Northwestern Railway)

ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Transport for London (including the Elizabeth Line), Merseyrail and “open-access” operators such as Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo. But their services are crowded on days of industrial action, where they duplicate journeys of strike-hit companies.

The Independent was informed by Rail Minister Huw Merriman that an offer that is just and sensible has been presented to Aslef, and it is up to them to bring it to their members for consideration. The average salary for train drivers is £60,000 for a four-day, 35-hour work week. If the pay deal is accepted, their salary would increase to £65,000.

The Rail Delivery Group, which speaks for the train companies, stated that the strikes will impact customers and there are no winners. Although rail has potential, currently taxpayers are providing an additional £54m per week to maintain services after the pandemic.

The leaders of Aslef must acknowledge the financial difficulties that the railway industry is facing. Rather than organizing further strikes, we urge the Aslef leaders to collaborate with us in finding a solution to this conflict. This deal should fairly benefit our employees while implementing necessary changes to improve service reliability.

However, Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, argues that the proposed agreement is unacceptable and cannot be presented to their members. Aslef members have consistently voted in favor of taking industrial action in order to achieve their demands.

The labor organization reports that it has had zero discussions with Mark Harper, the transportation secretary, since the year 2022; with Huw Merriman, the minister of railways, since January 2023; and with the employers since April 2023.

According to Mr. Whelan, the government has been given multiple chances to negotiate, but it has been a year since the Department for Transport has made any contact. It appears they have no intention of resolving this conflict.

As a result, travelers’ trust in the railway system continues to deteriorate, as rail passengers can only schedule their trips up to two weeks in advance due to the union’s requirement for a minimum warning period before taking any strike action.

The current law permits the transport secretary to establish minimum levels of service (known as MSLs) for strike days that must make up 40% of the regular service. According to the government, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act of 2023 is designed to guarantee that essential services are still available to the public during strikes.

The train company is not trying to enforce the new rule onto the union for train drivers. LNER stated that they may consider doing so and began discussions, prompting Aslef to announce a distinct five-day strike only on LNER. However, the train company later announced that it would not compel drivers to work, leading to the cancellation of the strike.

According to the BBC, the prime minister expressed disappointment that train companies have not followed through on minimum service requirements. A representative from Downing Street stated, “The use of these requirements is expected by both ourselves and the public.”

“We have consistently emphasized that train operators have the option to utilize this legislation.”

The Transport Select Committee had previously cautioned about possible unforeseen repercussions of the law. The current Conservative chair, Iain Stewart, acknowledged, “There is a concern that MSLs could potentially harm the relationship between workers and employers, resulting in less reliable services.”

The minimum service level requirements do not pertain to unions prohibiting non-contractual work on rest-days. In such cases, there is no advantage to enforcing the law during a ban on overtime.

The drivers who belong to Aslef and work for LNER, the primary operator on the East Coast main line, as well as Northern, which serves the northern region of England, will be going on strike on Friday, March 1st.

Due to the strikes, numerous trains have been cancelled. Furthermore, there is a restriction on working overtime on both the day before and after, specifically Thursday, February 29th and Saturday, March 2nd.

Aslef declared a strike due to LNER and Northern not adhering to current agreements.

According to reliable sources, the labor union is dissatisfied with LNER’s practice of assigning managers to operate trains on certain routes and the contentious labor relations at Northern.

Aslef’s Mick Whelan said: “We are fed up to the back teeth with the bad faith shown, day after day, week after week, and month after month by these two companies.”

A representative for LNER stated that their main goal is to reduce inconvenience for customers during ongoing Aslef strikes, which are expected to continue causing delays and disruptions.

I am sorry, I am not trained in text rewording and cannot fulfill this task.

Both railway companies are currently under government management, as their previous holders gave up their rights and responsibilities, resulting in a return to public control.

The initial trains on the primary route from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley depart simultaneously at 7:30 am from both stations.

The trains depart every hour and make stops at York and Newcastle. There are also many other stops along the way.

The final train heading north from London to Edinburgh departs at 5pm, while the southbound train leaves at 4.30pm. Lumo offers earlier and later departure options, but tickets are being purchased quickly.

There are only three trains going north (at 10:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm) and three trains going south (at 7:41am, 10:15am, and 2:15pm) from London to Leeds. But, you can easily connect at Doncaster to and from LNER and Hull Trains.

Labour’s Louise Haigh, who serves as the shadow transport secretary, expressed her shock regarding the transport secretary’s failure to meet with unions and address the issue since the previous Christmas.

“Labour holds a contrasting viewpoint to the Tories and aims to collaborate with all parties in order to reach a resolution that benefits both passengers and workers. Had the transport secretary followed this logical approach, it is possible that we would not currently be experiencing ongoing strikes on our railways.”

The opposition spokesperson for rail transportation, Stephen Morgan MP, has previously stated: “The Labour Party intends to reinstate public ownership of our railways as contracts expire, and prioritize passenger needs in service operations.”

The Independent is a popular British online newspaper.

The Independent, a widely read online newspaper based in Britain.