Aslef train drivers vote to back pay deal and end two-year stand-off
Train drivers have voted to back a pay deal that will resolve the last remaining conflict between rail operators and unions after two years of strikes that have brought misery for passengers.
Members of the driver’s union Aslef voted overwhelmingly to support the pay offer put forward by the Department for Transport (DfT) last month, which would result in a pay rise of almost 15% over three years.
The approval by 97% of Aslef’s more than 20,000 members brings an end to the union’s dispute with 16 train operating companies in England, which began in July 2022.
Drivers have taken 18 days of strike action since then, resulting in a near complete shutdown of English lines and some cross-border services, as well as a run of overtime bans that have caused widespread disruption.
Last month, Aslef’s management revealed it had agreed a pay offer in principle with the DfT that would result in a pay rise of 5% for 2022-23, 4.75% for 2023-24 and 4.5% for 2024-25 – all backdated and pensionable.
Crucially, it was also on the basis that there would be no changes to working conditions.
The deal marks an improvement from the previous offer, put forward by the Rail Delivery Group in April last year, which was rejected by Aslef members.
The earlier offer would have given drivers an 8% pay rise over two years but also included a number of changes to working conditions.
Talks stopped completely between the union, the RDG and the government after this, with Aslef saying it had not had a meeting with the then rail minister, Huw Merriman, since January 2023.
Negotiations with Aslef restarted in July after Labour’s election victory, with meetings taking place directly between the union and the DfT, and the RDG no longer involved in the process.
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Aslef was the only rail union that had yet to agree a pay deal after the RMT, which represents train crew, signallers, station staff and maintenance workers, agreed a deal with Network Rail in March 2023, before reaching an agreement with train operators in November last year.
It came after the RMT carried out more than 30 days of industrial action after its first strike day back in June 2022.
Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association union agreed to end their separate national dispute with the RDG after a pay deal was reached in February last year. The TSSA agreed a deal with Network Rail in December 2022.