Drivers working for eight rail firms in England have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a pay dispute but their Scottish counterparts have accepted an improved pay offer.
Union ASLEF said members working for Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Great Western, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains had voted for strike action, with support for the move ranging from 86% to 99%.
ASLEF members working for Greater Anglia are already engaged in a series of one-day strikes.
General secretary Mick Whelan described strikes as ‘always the last resort’. He said: ‘We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, too – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies driven by the Government.'
Transport secretary Grant Shapps was currently bidding to lead the Conservative Party and therefore succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister but pulled out of the contest on Tuesday.
Mr Whelan pointed out that inflation is currently ‘running at north of 10%’ and said drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years.
He added: ‘It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row. Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain’s railways – with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers – and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less.’
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said: ‘We want to see rail unions engage with train operators over the reforms needed to secure a bright long-term future for the industry, including working with ASLEF to deliver the more punctual, reliable services we know passengers care about.
‘Instead of causing further disruption to passengers and businesses, we urge the ASLEF leadership to continue talks.'
Separately, ASLEF members working for ScotRail have voted to accept an improved offer which the union said included a 5% increase in basic pay as well as an excess revenue share premium and additional improvements to other terms and conditions.
