ASLEF union members have announced a set of strikes for April and May, as their dispute over pay and working conditions continues.
Both tube and train drivers will take part in the strike action, with ASLEF train drivers walking out for three days in April. The trade union will also impose a six-day overtime ban as part of its 20-month dispute over pay with the Government and rail bosses.
Train strikes
The dates and rail network impacted by the strikes are as follows:
- Friday 5 April: Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, and CrossCountry.
- Saturday 6 April: Chiltern, GWR, LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Trains.
- Monday 8 April: C2C, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line.
Train drivers who are members of ASLEF will also refuse to work their rest days from Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 April and from Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 April.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said: “‘We have given the Government every opportunity to come to the table, but it is now clear they do not want to resolve this dispute. They are happy for it to go on and on.
“Because we are not going to give up. Many members have now not had a single penny increase in pay for half a decade, during which time inflation has soared and, with it, the cost of living.”
Whelan added: “We didn’t ask for an increase during the pandemic, when we worked through lockdown, as key workers, risking our lives, to move goods around the country and enable NHS and other workers to get to work.”
Passengers with advance tickets can get a refund if the train that they are booked on is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled.
Tube strikes
Tube drivers will walk out on Monday 8 April and Saturday 4 May, over a separate dispute concerning their working conditions. On 8 April, both tube and train strikes will be taking place.
The strikes are the second and third days of action on this issue after one day of walkouts in March last year.
Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s full-time organiser on London Underground (LU), says the decision was made as the union “failed to receive assurances” that changes to the workers’ terms and conditions would “not be imposed without agreement”.
He criticised requests by bosses for ASLEF tube train drivers to work longer shifts and “spend up to 25% more time in the cab.” Brennan said the Government wishes to “remove all current working agreements” in the name of “flexibility and efficiency.”
Brennan added: “Everyone knows what these management buzzwords really mean. It’s about getting people to work harder and longer for less. Management has also failed to deliver on commitments given to us on making drivers’ cabs secure, on police numbers on Night Tubes and on training. Our members simply don’t believe what LU management tells them anymore.
“ASLEF are, as always, ready to talk, but we want to see real action from management – not easily broken promises.”
