UK rail travellers face extra disruption after drivers at eight prepare corporations voted on Monday to strike in a dispute over pay, clearing the best way for the first nationwide drivers’ strike in a era this summer season.
Aslef, the prepare drivers’ union, stated drivers had voted “overwhelmingly” for industrial motion and blamed the federal government for refusing to permit corporations within the partly nationalised trade to supply pay rises in keeping with inflation.
Drivers at Arriva Rail, Chiltern, Nice Western, LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transpennine Specific and West Midlands Trains all voted to strike in poll outcomes unveiled on Monday.
Employees at three different corporations have already voted for industrial motion and ballots are nonetheless out at an additional three, growing the probability of what would in impact be the primary nationwide prepare drivers’ strike since 1995.
Mick Whelan, normal secretary of Aslef, final week instructed the Monetary Instances that such a strike would trigger “huge” disruption.
There are restricted contingency plans to exchange placing drivers, with two trade executives predicting the community would run lower than 10 per cent of regular companies if drivers walked out.
The Aslef poll outcomes additionally make co-ordinated strike motion from three unions that might cripple railways this summer season extra seemingly, following final month’s strike by the RMT, which introduced rail journey to a close to standstill.
The RMT has warned of a contemporary wave of strikes if negotiations with the trade, which restarted on Monday, failed.
Employees in stations and ticket places of work, who belong to the TSSA union, have voted to strike at 5 prepare working corporations, with additional ballots nonetheless out.
Whelan on Monday stated industrial motion may nonetheless be averted, however referred to as on the federal government, which units the trade’s budgets, to empower prepare corporations to supply larger pay rises.
“We’re comfortable to speak to anybody to do a deal and ensure Britain’s railways aren’t disrupted. The federal government is proscribing what the operators can provide, however then refusing to become involved in negotiation. They appear to have no real interest in discovering a decision,” he stated.
The federal government stated it was “disappointing” that Aslef was looking for to heap “additional distress” on passengers and claimed the union had “not dedicated to critical dialogue”.
It stated prepare drivers earn a median yearly wage of £60,000 and that with Britain’s railways in want of modernisation, union bosses ought to rethink their plans.
Trade physique the Rail Supply Group additionally referred to as on Aslef to proceed speaking.
Whelan final week stated his members had been supplied pay rises of about 2 per cent plus cash saved from productiveness positive factors, which he contrasted with inflation, which is forecast to hit 11 per cent this yr.
However in an indication of the form of pay rises wanted to keep away from industrial motion, Aslef drivers on Monday voted to simply accept a 5 per cent pay rise from ScotRail.
