ASLEF
has
called
a
new
series
of
strikes


for
early
April,
which
will
affect
most
operators
in
England
over
several
days. The
union
has
also
announced
a
series
of
bans
on
rest
day
working
and
two
days
of
strikes
on
London
Underground.

The
union’s
members
will
walk
out
at
Avanti
West
Coast,
East
Midlands
Railway,
West
Midlands
Trains
and
CrossCountry
on
Friday
5
April,
at
Chiltern
Railways,
GWR,
LNER,
Northern
and
TransPennine
Express
on
6
April,
and
at
c2c,
Greater
Anglia,
Govia
Thameslink
Railway,
Southeastern
and
South
Western
Railway
(main
line,
depot
drivers
and
Island
Line)
on
8
April.

They
will
also
refuse
to
work
rest
days
from
Thursday
4
to
Saturday
6
April
and
from
Monday
8
to
Tuesday
9
April.

ASLEF
general
secretary
Mick
Whelan
said:
‘Last
month,
when
we
announced
renewed
mandates
for
industrial
action,
because,
under
the
Tories’
draconian
anti-union
laws,
we
have
to
ballot
our
members
every
six
months,
we
called
on
the
train
companies,
and
the
government,
to
come
to
the
table
for
meaningful
talks
to
negotiate
a
new
pay
deal
for
train
drivers
who
have
not
had
an
increase
in
salary
since
2019.

‘Since
then
train
drivers
have
voted,
time
and
again,
to
take
action
in
pursuit
of
a
pay
rise.
That’s
why
Mark
Harper,
the
transport
secretary,
is
being
disingenuous
when
he
says
that
offer
should
have
been
put
to
members.
Drivers
wouldn’t
vote
for
industrial
action,
again
and
again
and
again,
if
they
thought
that
was
a
good
offer.
They
don’t.
That
offer
was
dead
in
the
water
in
April
last
year
–
and
Mr
Harper
knows
that.

‘We
asked
Mr
Harper,
or
his
deputy,
the
rail
minister
Huw
Merriman,
to
come
and
meet
us.
We
asked
the
RDG
and
the
TOCs
to
come
and
talk
to
us.
We
said:
“Let’s
sit
around
the
table
and
negotiate.”
Because
you
say
you
don’t
want
any
more
industrial
action,
and
we
don’t
want
to
disrupt
the
rail
network,
but
the
Tories
and
the
TOCs
have
given
us
no
choice.

‘We
haven’t
heard
from
Mr
Harper,
Mr
Merriman,
the
RDG,
or
the
TOCs
since
those
new
mandates
were
announced
four
weeks
ago.
In
fact,
Mr
Harper
hasn’t
deigned
to
talk
to
us
since
December
2022;
Mr
Merriman
hasn’t
talked
to
us
since
January
2023;
and
the
RDG
has
not
seen
fit
to
join
us
in
the
room
since
April
last
year.’

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
responded:
‘Nobody
wins
when
industrial
action
impacts
people’s
lives
and
livelihoods,
and
we
will
work
hard
to
minimise
any
disruption
to
our
passengers.

‘We
want
to
resolve
this
dispute,
but
the
ASLEF
leadership
need
to
recognise
that
hard-pressed
taxpayers
are
continuing
to
contribute
an
extra
£54
million
a
week
just
to
keep
services
running
post-Covid.
We
continue
to
seek
an
agreement
with
the
ASLEF
leadership
and
remain
open
to
talks
to
find
a
solution
to
this
dispute.’

Meanwhile,
members
of
ASLEF
who
drive
London
Underground
trains
will
strike
on
8
April
and
4
May.

ASLEF’s
full-time
organiser
on
London
Underground
Finn
Brennan
said
the
walkouts
were
part
of
a
long-running
dispute
over
‘London
Underground’s
failure
to
give
assurances
that
changes
to
our
members’
terms
and
conditions
will
not
be
imposed
without
agreement
and
that
all
existing
agreements
will
be
honoured’.