General Secretary Aslef Mick Whelan (centre) with striking railway workers at a picket near London's Euston station. Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND for The Telegraph.
Passengers across the UK will face further disruption to work on Friday and Saturday as the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Aslef organize further strikes.
Members of Aslef, the train drivers union, will leave on Friday and refuse to work overtime on Saturday.
Up to 20,000 RMT union members at 14 operators will also go on strike on Saturday as part of a longstanding wage dispute.
p>< p>Strikes are expected to disrupt travel plans for the final weekend of school holidays.
Aslef General Secretary Mick Whelan said: «The government seems happy to let passengers and businesses suffer because of misguided beliefs.» that they can force us into submission.
“They don’t care about passengers or British railways, but they won’t break us.”
“Train drivers in these companies didn’t get paid four year, since 2019, and inflation has skyrocketed.”
Aslef left home 11 times, and RMT organized a 33-day strike during an ongoing dispute.
When will the next train strikes take place?
- Friday, September 1 (Aslef)
- Saturday 2 September (RMT strike, Aslef's overtime ban)
1508 UK strikes, Aug-Sept. Which rail companies are affected?
Rail companies affected:
- < li>Avanti West Coast
- C2C
- Caledonian Sleeper
- Chiltern Railways
- Crosscountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Greater England
- GWR
- li>
- GTR Great Northern Thameslink
- Heathrow Express
- Island Line
- LNER
- Northern trains
- Southeast
- South
- Gatwick Express
- South Western Main Line
- Stanstead Express
- SWR Depot Drivers
- TransPennine Express< /li>
- West Midlands trains
>
Tips for traveling during train strikes
National Rail is warning passengers to expect «significant disruptions» on strike days. Services may also be interrupted and start later the next day.
National Rail recommends that passengers:
- Use the Journey Planner. Passengers should check the date of every strike.
- Use the Live Trains page for the most up-to-date arrival and departure information.
- Plan ahead and check before you travel. travel. This includes checking the entire trip, especially if you are traveling on the first and last train on strike days.
Closing ticket offices at stations
According to the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), nearly all ticket offices at train stations are closing and staff are being moved to platforms and lobbies. Ticket offices will remain open only at the busiest stations.
Posters are hung at the stations informing passengers of a possible closure. The government will make the final decision on which positions 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 20,000 rail workers on strike?
The RMT has accused train operators of failing to create a new pay bid to end the long strike.
Mr. Lynch said: «My team of negotiators and I are available 24/7 to negotiate with railway companies and government ministers.»
«However, and quite unbelievably, neither side made any attempt to organize any meetings or put forward a worthy proposal that could help us reach a negotiated solution.»
Stations are empty as train drivers leave due to a lengthy wage dispute. Photo: Jonathan Brady/Pennsylvania
According to RMT, the government «by contract sets the terms of the negotiations.» parameters” of 14 train operators and does not allow them to make new concessions.
A rail delivery group representing the affected train operators called the latest strikes «completely unnecessary».
Responding to RMT's statement, a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group stated: «We made three proposals that the RMT chief blocked without convincing explanation.»
“We are still open to negotiation and we have repeatedly said that we want to increase the wages of our people, but until union management and chief executives unite in what they want and act in good faith in the conditions of shortage revenues of 30%, the industry will continue to operate. To cope with post-COVID illness, it is difficult to move forward.
“Unfortunately, our employees, our customers and communities across the country who rely on a thriving railroad are suffering as a result.”
In May, RMT members extended the union's industrial mandate and went on strike for another six months.
Why do Aslef drivers refuse to work overtime?
The train drivers union has been embroiled in a wage dispute throughout the year, having already staged several strikes since last summer.
RDG has been proposing a 4% wage increase in 2022 and then another 4% in 2023.< /p>
Aslef's Mr. Whelan said the proposal was «clearly not designed to be accepted» as inflation is much higher, meaning the proposal is a pay cut in real terms.
Mr. Whelan rejected the union's wage offer as it amounted to a wage cut in real terms. Credit: Dinendra Haria/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The salaries of train drivers have not increased since 2019, he added.
To qualify for the first 4% raise, companies will need to commit to making drivers move faster to new routes to close service gaps and use technology to train new hires faster.
Second. The year of the pay increase will depend on the «successful completion» of reform negotiations that would make drivers working on Sundays contractually required to do so unless alternative cover is available.
The RDG said the change is vital as tourism travel recovered much faster than commuter and business travel, to 116% of pre-Covid levels.
The group also demanded that control over staff Work and training schedules have been «put back in the hands of employers».
Do you support the ASLEF drivers' strike?
However, the train drivers union said the 8% offer over two years, which would raise the average driver's salary from around £60,000 to just below £65,000, was not enough.
C Since then, inflation has mostly been in double digits. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, last July this figure remained at 10.4% in March.
This means that the proposed wage will continue to be a significant reduction in wages in real terms.< /p>
The RDG spokesman said: «Big strikes are completely unnecessary and will only put more pressure on an industry already in a severe financial crisis.»
This article is updated daily with the latest news.
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