Train drivers at nine rail companies are to strike next month over pay, their union has announced.
Aslef confirmed its members will walk out on Saturday August 13, saying the firms failed to make a pay offer to help members keep pace with increases in the cost of living.
Drivers are already set to strike this Saturday at seven companies with Aslef members at two more train operators today voting overwhelmingly for industrial action.
The announcement was made as strikes by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association crippled services on Wednesday, with only around one in five trains running and some areas having none at all.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said strikes are "always the last resort".
He added: "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, who say they have been driven to this by the Tory government.
"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 rise since 2019."
Drivers at Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry voted by more than 9-1 to go on strike, it was announced this afternoon.
They will strike on August 13 alongside drivers at Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains.
A row broke out between unions and the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps after he laid out plans to curb industrial action, including stopping coordinated industrial action, limiting picketing and having a cooling off period after strikes.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “I’m looking at banning strikes by different unions in the same workplace within a set period. We should also place an absolute limit of six pickets at points of Critical National Infrastructure, irrespective of the number of unions involved, and outlaw intimidatory language.
“Ballot papers should also set out clearly the specific reason for industrial action and the form of action to be taken. In addition, before strike dates are announced, employers should have the right to respond to the issue cited on the ballot paper.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “If Grant Shapps had his way we would all still be in the workhouse.”
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The Government wants to turn the clock back to Victorian times when children were sent up chimneys and working people ruthlessly exploited.”
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch admitted he does not know when the strikes will end.
Mr Lynch, who spoke to the PA news agency on the picket line at Euston, said: “I don’t know how long they’ll go on. When we get a negotiated settlement that our members support then the strikes will cease.
“But at the moment we’ve got a big gap to bridge, and we’re not near that at the moment so the strikes will go on.”
Asked whether there is any other alternative, he replied: “I could do trial by combat… but I can’t think of (another) way at the moment because we’ve been negotiating for two years.
“But it would be interesting if me and Grant Shapps went head to head, if that’s not too flippant.”
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said earlier this week: “Despite our best efforts to find a breakthrough, I’m afraid there will be more disruption for passengers this week as the RMT seems hell-bent on continuing their political campaigning, rather than compromising and agreeing a deal for their members.
“I can only apologise for the impact this pointless strike will have on passengers, especially those travelling for holidays or attending events such as the Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final (on Wednesday) and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games (on Thursday).”
Members of the RMT and TSSA will launch co-ordinated strikes on August 18 and 20, while the RMT announced a strike on London Underground on August 19.
