Passengers could face yet more travel disruption this summer after train drivers at another union voted to strike.
Drivers at eight railway companies, and represented by the Aslef union, voted in favour of industrial action on Monday because they want higher wages. Those companies include Southeastern, which operates through much of south-east London including Southwark.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said that strikes are “always the last resort” but his members had been “forced into this position” by their employers not giving them a pay rise in three years.
No date has been set for the possible strikes yet, but unions have to give at least fourteen days notice.
It comes after 40,000 train workers in the RMT union brought much of the rail network to a standstill on three days in late June by going on strike over a pay dispute. Tube staff have also been on strike several times recently.
Mr Whelan added: “Strikes are always the last resort. We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, too – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies driven by the government.
“Many of our members – who were, you will remember, the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic – have not had a pay rise since 2019.
“With inflation running at north of 10% that means those drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years. We want an increase in line with the cost of living – we want to be able to buy, in 2022, what we could buy in 2021.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: ‘It is very disappointing that, rather than commit to serious dialogue with the industry, Aslef are first seeking to cause further misery to passengers by joining others in disrupting the rail network.”
Drivers at the following companies have voted to strike:
- Southeastern
- Great Western Railway
- Arriva Rail London
- Chiltern Railways
- LNER
- Northern Trains
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains