The boss of Britain’s train drivers union has warned that his members are set to resume strike action in the winter over a pay dispute, ahead of another walkout that will lead to another weekend of indirection. serious section.
Aslef will shut down large parts of its rail network as it goes on a second day-long strike on Saturday at nine UK train operators.
Mick Whelan, the union’s general secretary, said he would hold his first talks next week with industry representatives from the Rail Delivery Corporation, which represents train operators, when the Drivers push for wage increases to help them keep up with the rising cost of living.
But he warned that his members, who are taking their first national industrial action since 1995, are ready for “the long haul” and that the dispute could drag on for the rest of the year. “Industry people are saying we’re really upset, we want you to do something about it,” he said.
Train operators have previously said any pay hikes could only be funded by changes to working practices, such as making employee compensation more flexible by making it more flexible. include Sunday shifts as part of the workweek.
Steve Montgomery, president of RDG, who last week urged the union to start negotiations, said: “Railways are too important to this country to allow it to decline, but with passenger revenue still 20% below 2019 levels, ensuring a bright future means we have to change and move with the times. Only then will we be able to fund the pay rise we want to give our employees.”
Saturday’s drivers’ strike will hit some of the busiest roads in the UK, with West Coast Avanti having no service between London, England’s north-west and Scotland. Services from the capital to Kent and parts of East Sussex, operated by Southeastern, will also be suspended.
Other routes, including the main east coast line and services between London and the country to the west, will have extremely limited service, the rail industry warned.
Whelan said ending the dispute would depend on the government providing more funding to industry to unlock wage increases. “The first thing we need to address is the pay itself. Because until we resolve the payment issue, talks about anything else will be fruitless,” he said.
“I believe it just has. . . the government can release the shackles. So we can talk as much as we want, but how much can be achieved if people are really not allowed to haggle is very limited,” Whelan added.
Ministers declined to enter talks with rail unions this summer and said the industry would negotiate within budgets set by the government. The rail industry has been effectively fully re-nationalized during the coronavirus pandemic as the state places all rail franchise operators on emergency contracts and assumes all financial risks.
Ministers have argued that after providing £16 billion in public funding to keep services running during the pandemic, other priorities are for public spending.
RMT and state-owned infrastructure operator Network Rail held informal talks on Thursday, the latest contact between the two sides in a months-long dispute over pay, potential the possibility of losing jobs and changing working methods. Network Rail has insisted that it cannot improve its pay offer, including an 8% increase over two years and a guarantee of no mandated redundancies.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
