Train drivers to stage fresh strikes over the May bank holiday

Train drivers across 16 rail companies are to stage fresh strikes over the May bank holiday as members of Aslef will walkout on 7,8 and 9 May and there will be a ban on overtimes for six days.

The union said that they’ve not met with the government nor the employers in over a year and have accused MPs of “giving up.”

The dispute has been running for 2-years as drivers have not had an increase in their wages for five years.

General secretary Mick Whelan said, “It is now a year since we sat in a room with the train companies and a year since we rejected the risible offer they made and which they admitted, privately, was designed to be rejected.

“We first balloted for industrial action in June 2022, after three years without a pay rise. It took eight one-day strikes to persuade the train operating companies (Tocs) to come to the table and talk.

“Our negotiating team met the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on eight occasions – the last being on Wednesday April 26 last year.

“That was followed by the Tocs’ ‘land grab’ for all our terms & conditions on Thursday April 27 – which was immediately rejected.

“Since then train drivers have voted, again and again, to take action to get a pay rise.

“That’s why Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that offer should have been put to members. Drivers would not vote to strike if they thought an offer was acceptable.”