Train drivers union Aslef announces more industrial action as strikes loom

17/07/2023

The train drivers‘ union, Aslef, has announced a third ban on working overtime, which will see fresh disruption on the railways. Drivers will refuse to work overtime for six days from Monday 31 July. It comes as the union begins its second overtime ban in three weeks, in a dispute about pay, jobs and conditions.

Separately, members of the RMT union will strike on Thursday and Saturday this week. Passengers are being advised to check services before they travel. Members of Aslef are taking industrial action short of a strike, in the form of an overtime ban.

Most train companies rely on drivers working overtime to run their full schedules. Services at 15 companies based in England will be disrupted from Monday 17 to Saturday 22 July, and then again from Monday 31 July to Saturday 5 August.

Many train operators will reduce their service levels. Strikes will be held on Thursday 20, Saturday 22 and Saturday 29 July. Members of the RMT union will be taking action at 14 rail companies:

Avanti West Coast
C2C
Chiltern Railways
CrossCountry
East Midlands Railway
GTR
Great Western Railway
Greater Anglia
LNER
Northern Trains
Southeastern
South Western Railway
TransPennine Express
West Midlands Trains
GTR operates Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express. Stansted Express Will some trains still run on strike days? The RMT says 20,000 of its members, including guards, train managers and station staff, will walk out.

On previous strike days there have been thousands of cancellations, with some lines not operating at all.

On lines where there have been services, they have tended to start later and finish earlier than normal. Passengers are advised to check with the operator before travelling.

Why have railway workers been on strike?
Unions say any pay offer should reflect the rising cost of living – with the inflation rate only recently having dipped below 10%.

But the rail industry is under pressure to save money, after the pandemic left a hole in its finances. Bosses say reforms need to be agreed to afford pay increases and modernise the railway.

What about the Tube strikes?
London Underground workers at three unions will strike from Sunday 23 July until Friday 28 July in a long-running dispute about pensions, job cuts and working conditions:

23 to 28 July: Members of the RMT will walk out although the union has not yet confirmed which groups of workers will strike on which days, nor whether the action will last for a solid six days
26 and 28 July: Aslef drivers will go on strike
26 and 28 July: Members of the Unite union who work in engineering, maintenance and management roles will go on strike
How much are rail workers paid?
The average salary of rail workers in 2022 was £45,919, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

If drivers are excluded (because they tend to be members of the Aslef union, not RMT) its estimate is £39,518. However, the RMT union said that figure was too high because it does not include rail cleaning staff. The ONS says median pay for “train and tram drivers” is just under £59,000.

Although Aslef members tend to be better paid than other rail workers, Mick Whelan, general secretary of the union, told BBC News on 12 May that train drivers “haven’t had a pay rise for four years”. He was just referring to the ones who are taking industrial action.

That’s because a new pay deal has not been reached since their last agreement ended in 2019. However, Transport Minister Huw Merriman said the pay of train drivers “has gone up by 39% since 2011… the highest increase of any employment group.”

He is right about the 39% increase, but we have not been able to establish whether it’s the highest increase for any employment group. That’s because of changes to the way the figures have been released over the last decade

Source: BBC