Jeremy Corbyn backs Mick Lynch and hits back at RMT members in their longstanding dispute. Credit: Guy Smallman/Getty Images Europe
Passengers face further disruptions this August as train drivers impose a ban on overtime, jeopardizing traffic in the midst of the summer break.
July has already continued travel chaos that marred 2023: 20,000 railroad workers quit for three days over a protracted wage dispute.
RMT members have resigned from 14 train operators across England after the company failed to come up with a revised payment proposal. The latest strike affected fans who went to the Trial of Ashes at the end of July. London Underground workers were also planning four-day strikes in July, but they were cancelled.
When are the next train strikes?
Members of Aslef Machinists' Union refuse to work overtime from Monday 7 August to Saturday 12 August in another longstanding salary dispute.
This will be the fourth weekly overtime ban since May. They are already out from Monday 31 July to Saturday 5 August.
The disruption will affect football fans traveling for the first weekend of the Premier League season starting Friday 11 August with Burnley. against Manchester City. Cricket fans will also face challenges as The Hundred continues.
The RMT and Aslef strikes took their toll on rail passengers in May, including thousands attending the FA Cup final at Wembley, the Epsom derby, Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour concert at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Eurovision final in Liverpool.
1507 UK strikes July August Which rail companies are affected?The level of disruption due to Aslef's overtime ban will vary between operators. Affected railway companies:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- Cross Country
- East Midlands Railway < li>Greater Anglia
- GWR
- GTR Great Northern Thameslink
- Island Line
- LNER
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern
- li>
- Southern
- Gatwick Express
- South Western Main Line
- SWR depot drivers
- TransPennine Express
- li>
- West Midlands trains
Tips for traveling during a train strike
National Rail is warning passengers that «significant disruptions» are expected during strike days. Traffic is also likely to be interrupted and start later the next day.
The National Railroad has advised passengers to:
- Use the Journey Planner. Passengers should check the information shortly before the date of each strike.
- Use the Live Trains page for the most up-to-date information on arrivals and departures.
- Plan ahead and check in advance to travel. This includes checking your entire journey, especially if you are traveling on the first and last train on strike days.
Station ticket office closures
According to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), nearly all train station ticket offices are closed and staff have been moved to the station platform and lobby. Ticket offices will remain open only at the busiest stations.
There are posters at the stations informing passengers of the possible closure. The government will make the final decision on which offices will be cut after consultations. It is not known how quickly the first offices will close, but the closure program is expected to last three years.
Why are Aslef drivers refusing to work overtime?
The train drivers union has become embroiled in a year-long wage dispute that has already caused several problems since last summer. strikes.
RDG has proposed a 4% increase in 2022, followed by another 4% in 2023.
Aslef's Mr. Whelan said the proposal was «clearly not meant to be passed» as inflation is much higher, meaning the proposal represents a pay cut in real terms.
General Secretary Mick Whelana Aslefa rejected the union's pay proposal because in real terms it meant a pay cut. Dinendra Haria/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
He added that train drivers have not received a salary increase since 2019.
To qualify for the first 4 percent increase, companies need to commit to getting drivers to switch to the new fares. routes faster to help fill service gaps and use technology to train new staff more quickly.
The second year of pay increases will depend on the «successful completion» of reform negotiations that would see drivers working on Sundays will be required to do so by contract unless there is an alternative cover.
This was stated by RDG. the change has been vital as leisure travel has recovered much stronger than commuter and business travel and is now at 116% of its pre-pandemic levels.
The group also demanded that control over work schedules and staff training be returned “ into the hands of the employers.”
Do you support the ASLEF drivers' strike?
However, the machinists' union said the 8% offer over two years, which would raise the average machinist's salary from about £60,000 to just under £65,000, was not enough.
Since then, inflation has mostly expressed in two digits. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in July last year, this figure remained at 10.4% in March.
This means that the pay proposal will continue to be a significant reduction in wages in real terms.
A spokesman for the RDG said: «Further strikes are completely unnecessary and will only increase the pressure on an industry that is already in a severe financial crisis.»
Why are 20,000 rail workers on strike?
RMT has accused train operators of failing to do something new a pay offer to end the long-running strike.
Mr. Lynch said: «My team of negotiators and I are available 24/7 to negotiate with railway companies and government ministers.»
«However, quite unbelievably, no attempt has been made by any of the parties to organize any meetings or put forward a worthy proposal that could help us reach an agreed solution.»
The RMT, led by Secretary General Mick Lynch (center), said the government is preventing train operators from proposing a new wage deal. Photo: Ming Yeung
According to RMT, the government «sets the negotiation parameters by agreement» for 14 train operators and blocks them from further concessions.
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the affected train operators, called the latest strikes «completely unnecessary».
Responding to RMT's statement, a Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: «We made three proposals that RMT management blocked without convincing explanation.
«We remain open to negotiations. and we have repeatedly said that we want to raise the wages of our people, but until the union leadership and the executive branch unite in what they want and deal with the 30% income gap in good faith, the industry continues to fight post-covid hard to move forward.
“Unfortunately, our employees, our customers and communities across the country who depend on a prosperous railroad are suffering as a result.”
In May, RMT members extended industrial union mandate to continue the strike for another six months.
This article is updated daily with the latest news.
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