Train Drivers Vote to Continue Strike Action for Six More Months

Members of the drivers' union Aslef on the picket line at New Street station in Birmingham, England, on May 31, 2023. Jacob King/PA Media

Train drivers have voted to continue taking strike action for the next six months in their long-running pay dispute.

Unions involved in industrial disputes have to hold a fresh ballot every six months to ask their members if they want to continue taking action.

Train drivers’ union Aslef said on Wednesday that it had balloted 12,500 of its members at 15 train operators, with most voting by more than 90 percent in favour of continuing with strikes and other forms of industrial action.

A passenger looks through the closed Moor Street Station in Birmingham, England, on May 31, 2023. Jacob King/PA Media

‘In It for the Long Haul’

Commenting on the ballot results, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “Once again our members have decided that we are in this for the long haul.

“Train drivers are sick to the back teeth of their employers and the government failing to negotiate in good faith, and blaming drivers for their inability to manage services and the rail industry effectively.”

The union boss said Aslef members are “simply asking for a fair deal on pay so that they can afford to keep up with their outgoings in this government-made cost-of-living crisis.”

He said the union is “prepared to come to the table,” but warned the government and the train companies that they won’t be able to resolve the dispute by trying to “bully” Aslef members into accepting “worse terms and conditions.”

‘Not Fair Nor Sustainable’

The government and rail companies have urged the union to give its members a chance to vote on the existing pay offer, which they say is a “generous” pay rise on train drivers’ “already high salaries.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The government has played its part to try and end this dispute, enabling a generous pay offer that would see train drivers’ already high salaries increase from an average of £60,000. That’s why today’s results are disappointing for rail passengers across the country who want this dispute to end.

“Whilst Aslef members have been able to vote on extending the strikes, union leaders have repeatedly denied them a chance to vote on the very fair pay offer that would end these strikes.

“We urge them to do the right thing and give members a say on that pay offer.”

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents rail companies, said: “It is not fair nor sustainable to continue relying on record taxpayer subsidies to keep the industry afloat when it is still down 30 percent of its pre-COVID-19 revenue, as confirmed in the latest passenger usage report.

“Aslef must recognise that the reform of long out-of-date working practices is the only way forward to improve reliability and fund a pay rise.”

Events Disrupted

Aslef has taken 11 days of strike action since last summer, and some of its members have been balloted three times since the dispute started.

The last Aslef strike, which took place on June 3, caused major disruption to football fans travelling to London for the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.

It also affected people travelling to the annual Epsom Derby horse race at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey.

The government said the strikes had been “coordinated by union leaders to disrupt passengers in a week which will see major events such as the first-ever all-Manchester FA Cup final, the Epsom Derby, and a number of concerts and festivals across the UK.”

But Whelan denied the union had planned the strikes to cause disruptions to major events.

There is not “a day in this country when there’s not a pop concert or something going on,” he told the BBC at the time.

PA Media contributed to this report.