The
general
secretary
of
the
drivers’
union
ASLEF


has
launched
a
broadside
against
the
government
and
train
operators,
accusing
them
of
not
caring
about
railway
passengers
and
staff.

His
comments
came
as
he
announced
another
week-long
overtime
ban
in
England
between
31
July
and
5
August.

ASLEF
has
already
started
a
similar
ban
today,
which
will
continue
until
Saturday.
It
is
the
third
of
its
kind,
because
ASLEF
had
already
withdrawn
‘non-contractual’
overtime
from
15
to
20
May,
and
also
earlier
this
month
for
six
days
from
3
July.

The
operators
affected
are
Avanti
West
Coast,
Chiltern
Railways,
CrossCountry,
East
Midlands
Railway,
Greater
Anglia,
Great
Western
Railway,
Govia
Thameslink
Railway,
LNER,
Northern,
Southeastern,
South
Western
Railway
and
Island
Line,
TransPennine
Express
and
West
Midlands
Trains.

ASLEF
general
secretary
Mick
Whelan
said:
‘We
don’t
want
to
take
this
action.
We
don’t
want
people
to
be
inconvenienced.
But
the
blame
lies
with
the
train
companies,
and
the
government
which
stands
behind
them,
which
refuse
to
sit
down
and
talk
to
us
and
have
not
made
a
fair
and
sensible
pay
offer
to
train
drivers
who
have
not
had
one
for
four
years
–
since
2019
–
while
prices
have
soared
in
that
time
by
more
than
12
per
cent.

‘The
proposal
they
made
on
Wednesday
26
April
–
of
4
per
cent
with
a
further
rise
dependent,
in
a
naked
land
grab
on
drivers
giving
up
terms
and
conditions
for
which
we
have
fought
and
negotiated
for
years
–
was
not
designed
to
be
accepted.

‘We
have
not
heard
a
word
from
the
employers
since
then
–
not
a
meeting,
not
a
phone
call,
not
a
text
message,
nor
an
email
–
for
the
last
twelve
weeks,
and
we
haven’t
sat
down
with
the
government
since
6
January.
That
shows
how
little
the
companies
and
the
government
care
about
passengers
and
staff.
They
appear
content
to
let
this
drift
on
and
on.

‘In
contrast,
we
want
a
fair
resolution.
That’s
why
we
are
taking
this
action,
to
try
to
bring
things
to
a
head.
Then
I
can
concentrate
on
my
day
job
working
with
others
in
the
industry
to
rebuild
Britain’s
railways
for
passengers,
for
business,
and
for
this
country.’

Meanwhile,
the
RMT
is
set
to
stage
24-hour
National
Rail
walkouts
on
20,
22
and
29
July,
and
also
a
‘week
of
action’
on
London
Underground
between
23
and
28
July.

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
said:
‘While
we
are
doing
all
we
can
to
keep
trains
running,
unfortunately
there
will
be
reduced
services
between
Monday
17
July
and
Saturday
29
July,
so
our
advice
is
to
check
before
you
travel.’