Members
of
ASLEF


at
most
train
operators
in
England
have
started
a
week-long
overtime
ban
today,
and
a
series
of
one-day
strikes
is
set
to
begin
tomorrow
at
Govia
Thameslink
Railway,
Southeastern
and
South
Western
Railway.

Northern
and
TransPennine
Express
will
be
affected
on
Wednesday,
c2c,
Greater
Anglia
and
LNER
on
Friday,
and
Avanti
West
Coast,
East
Midlands
Railway
and
West
Midlands
Railway
on
Saturday.

There
will
be
no
walkouts
on
Sunday,
but
a
final
round
of
24-hour
strikes
will
be
staged
by
ASLEF
drivers
at
Chiltern
Railways,
CrossCountry
and
GWR
on
Monday,
while
the
overtime
ban
will
also
run
until
Monday.

ASLEF
had
planned
a
further
five
days
of
strikes
on
LNER
from
next
Monday
until
Friday,
but
has
called
them
off.
These
walkouts
were
suspended
after
it
emerged
that
LNER
would
not
be
using
the
new
and
controversial
minimum
service
law,
which
could
have
required
at
least
40
per
cent
of
drivers
to
book
on
for
duty,
at
the
risk
of
heavy
penalties
for
the
union
if
they
did
not.

The
union
has
not
confirmed
that
this
was
the
reason,
but
some
politicians
are
critical
of
what
they
see
as
state-owned
LNER’s
‘failure’
to
enforce
the
new
law.
Former
Conservative
leader
Sir
Iain
Duncan
Smith
has
maintained
that
LNER
managers
had
shown
‘rank
cowardice’,
telling
the
Daily
Mail
that
‘if
the
law
is
there
you
use
it’.

A
spokesman
for
the
Prime
Minister
said
the
decision
to
go
ahead
with
the
rolling
strikes
was
‘extremely
disappointing’,
continuing:
‘ASLEF
drivers
continue
to
be
paid
far
above
what
the
average
person
in
the
UK
receives.
Rail
companies
have
made
a
fair
and
reasonable
offer,
and
we
would
encourage
them
to
step
back
from
this
action.’

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.

‘It’s
clear
they
do
not
want
to
resolve
this
dispute.

‘Many
of
our
members
have
not
had
a
single
penny
increase
to
their
pay
for
half
a
decade,
during
which
time
inflation
has
soared
and,
with
it,
the
cost
of
living.

‘Train
drivers
didn’t
even
ask
for
an
increase
during
the
Covid-19
pandemic
when
we
worked
throughout
lockdown
as
key
workers,
risking
our
lives,
to
move
goods
around
the
country
and
to
enable
NHS
and
other
workers
to
get
to
work.

‘The
Tory
government
has
now
tried
its
old
trick
of
changing
the
rules.
When
they
couldn’t
win
they
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
just
make
it
worse.

’There
is,
frankly,
no
excuse
for
this
nonsense.
The
Government
and
train
operating
companies
should
come
to
the
table
with
a
realistic
offer
so
we
can
end
this
dispute
and
work
together
to
ensure
the
future
of
our
railways.’

Merseyrail
is
not
involved
in
the
dispute,
and
neither
are
the
domestic
operators
in
Scotland
and
Wales.
Trains
should
run
normally
there,
except
that
some
cross-border
services
run
by
English
operators
could
be
disrupted,
particularly
on
Friday,
Saturday
and
Monday.