Train drivers in England to hold fresh week of strikes from late January
Train drivers have called a further week of rolling strikes across England from late January in their long-running dispute with operators over pay.
Members of the Aslef union will strike for 24 hours at each train-operating company on the national railway on different days between Tuesday 30 January and Monday 5 February.
Drivers will refuse to work overtime throughout the strike period, causing prolonged disruption in parts of the network that rely on rest day working.
The latest strikes follow a similar week of rolling action in December, after 14 previous days of nationwide stoppages over the 18-month dispute.
The Aslef general secretary, Mick Whelan, said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it has now been a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport (DfT). It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute.
“Many of our members have now not had a single penny increase to their pay in half a decade, during which inflation soared and with it the cost of living. Train drivers didn’t even ask for an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic when they worked throughout as key workers, risking their lives to allow NHS and other workers to travel.”
Walkouts are likely to stop all trains at affected operators, although there is the possibility that companies could demand that 40% of their timetable runs under the government’s new minimum services levels law. The legislation is untested and rail firms as well as unions have expressed concern about the practicalities and consequences.
Whelan said: “The government has now tried their old trick of changing the rules when they can’t win and brought in minimum service levels legislation. But this new law, as we told officials during the consultation period, won’t ease industrial strife. It will likely just make it worse.”
Drivers will strike at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Thameslink and South Western Railway on Tuesday 30 January; at Northern Trains and TransPennine Express on Wednesday 31 January; at Greater Anglia, C2C and LNER on Friday 2 February; at West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway on Saturday 3 February; and at Great Western, CrossCountry and Chiltern on Monday 5 February.
Drivers will refuse to work overtime from Monday 29 January until Tuesday 6 February.
The rail strikes will only take place at companies contracted to the DfT in England, but some cross-border services they operate into Scotland and Wales may be affected.