Train drivers have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay, raising the threat of more disruption to rail services this summer.
Members of the Aslef train drivers’ union at eight rail companies supported the strike action.
Aslef members at Chiltern, LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express, Arriva Rail London, Great Western, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains voted around 9-1 in favor of strikes on a turnout of over 80%.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: “Strikes are always a last resort.
“We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and family also use public transport – and we don’t want to lose money by striking, but we’ve been forced into this position by government-run companies.”
“Many of our members — who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic — have not had a pay raise since 2019.
“With inflation running north of 10%, this means these drivers have had real pay cuts over the last three years.
“It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row.
“Especially as rail companies are doing very well, thank you, outside of UK rail, with great profits, dividends for shareholders and big salaries for managers.”
The Transport Staff Association (TSSA) also said hundreds of its Southeastern members had also voted to strike.
The union is yet to name dates for any strike action but will now discuss next steps with workplace representatives.
General Secretary Manuel Cortes said: “The results show that our members are fully committed to fighting for their wages, jobs and conditions.
“They are right to do so amid an escalating Tory cost of living crisis and with a chaotic government determined to make drastic cuts to our rail network while inflation rages.”
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“Desperate need for modernization”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “It is very disappointing that instead of engaging in serious dialogue with the industry, Aslef are first looking to cause more misery for passengers by joining others in disrupting the rail network.
“The drivers they represent earn on average just under £60,000 a year – more than twice the UK average wage and significantly more than the very workers who will be most affected by these strikes.
“Our railway is in desperate need of modernization to make it work better for passengers and to be financially sustainable in the long term. We call on union bosses to rethink and work with employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward.”
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The vote follows highly disruptive strikes by 40,000 RMT union workers across 13 operators and at Network Rail last month.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch backed Aslef members to vote Leave and said of the transport minister: “Grant Shapps needs to stop messing with his doomed Tory leadership bid and get back to focusing on resolving this dispute.
Meanwhile, Aslef members have voted to accept an improved pay offer from ScotRail.
The union announced on Monday that its members had accepted pay and conditions offers from the newly nationalized rail operator.
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