LNER train drivers to stage weekend strikes across three months

Practice drivers at London North Jap Railway (LNER) are set to strike each weekend in September, October and two in November, union bosses have introduced.

Aslef, which represents prepare drivers, mentioned the walkouts at LNER have been on account of a breakdown in industrial relations and agreements.

The recent strikes are separate to an ongoing pay dispute with all prepare firms, which edged nearer to being resolved in England this week after a brand new pay supply.

Individually, Border Drive officers at Heathrow Airport have introduced extra industrial motion in a row over modifications to phrases and circumstances.

The Public and Industrial Providers union mentioned 650 Border Drive officers will strike from 31 August to three September, earlier than they start a interval of working-to-rule and refusing to work additional time till 22 September.

The union mentioned officers have been being instructed to “select between caring duties and their job” on account of what it referred to as “rigid rosters”.

Aslef mentioned its member drivers at LNER would stroll out each Saturday between 31 August and 9 November and on each Sunday from 1 September to 10 November.

LNER, which operates providers on the East Coast Mainline between London and Edinburgh and is run by the federal government, mentioned it was “shocked and disenchanted” by the announcement following current talks.

Its trains run to and from London King’s Cross station and cross via main cities together with Newcastle, York and Durham.

Numerous railway strikes have led to cancelled providers and disruption for passengers for greater than two years.

The recent walkouts, which whole 22 days, are separate to the long-running row over prepare driver wages at 16 prepare firms, which seems set to be resolved in England following a brand new pay supply made this week.

Mick Whelan, basic secretary of Aslef, claimed the union had been “pressured” into taking strike motion at LNER.

He accused the prepare operator of “repeatedly” breaking agreements, performing in “unhealthy religion”, and of “boorish behaviour and bullying techniques”.

LNER mentioned it will proceed to work with the union to “discover a technique to finish this lengthy working dispute which solely damages the rail trade”.

“Our precedence focus will probably be on minimising disruption to clients through the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will proceed to trigger disruption and delays,” a press release added.

A spokesperson mentioned the corporate took “any accusations of bullying very critically, and this isn’t one thing tolerated anyplace within the enterprise”.

The Division for Transport mentioned the strikes have been “extraordinarily disappointing for passengers”, including that transport secretary Louise Haigh had referred to as on each Aslef and LNER to “around the desk and work in good religion to resolve this dispute and as shortly as doable”.

However Conservative shadow transport minister Kieran Mullan mentioned following the brand new pay deal provided, “it ought to shock no person that extra strikes are on the playing cards”.

“All Labour are doing is encouraging the unions into extra of this anti-passenger motion, placing our rail community on the beck and name of unions, while passengers pay the worth,” he added.

Nigel Roebuck, who has led Aslef’s negotiations with LNER, mentioned members had complained about being persistently “badgered for favours” by managers “outdoors of rostering agreements and being contacted remotely”.

“The underside line is that LNER doesn’t make use of sufficient drivers to ship the providers it has promised passengers, and the federal government, it is going to run,” he instructed.

The Aslef union says it has greater than 21,000 members and represents 96% of all of the prepare drivers in England, Scotland, and Wales, the place it’s organised.

Its management crew has really useful members settle for the newly-tabled supply for prepare drivers in England, which features a backdated 5% pay improve for 2019 to 2022, 4.75% for 2022 to 2024, and 4.5% for 2024 to 2025.

Shadow transport minister Kieran Mullan mentioned: “After a no-strings-attached supply to throw money at a Labour-backing union, it ought to shock no person that extra strikes are on the playing cards.

“It is a style of what’s to return, a nationalised prepare service seeing Labour-backing unions staging walkouts regardless of a bumper pay deal.”

In one other separate dispute, these working for publicly-run Scotrail are presently being balloted for strike motion over pay.

On Friday, it emerged that the RMT union, which had resolved its pay supply with the earlier Conservative authorities, would anticipate the identical phrases as these provided to coach drivers to be put ahead to rail staff, equivalent to guards and signalling employees.

Mick Lynch instructed the Occasions that he anticipated a “parallel, synchronised supply”, including there might be “issues” if this isn’t the case.

The RMT has confirmed it is going to enter pay talks subsequent week with the Division for Transport, which can negotiate on behalf of the prepare working firms and Community Rail.