Trade unions for train drivers and railway staff have agreed to go on strike in October. The nationwide industrial action includes a walkout on the day Newcastle United play an away match in London.
Members of the ASLEF union - which represents 96% of train drivers in Britain - will walk out on Saturday October 1 and Wednesday October 5. The RMT, the biggest union for train staff, has also agreed a strike on October 1, which includes industrial action from Network Rail staff as well as employees working on trains and in stations across Britain.
LNER, Northern, CrossCountry and Transpennine drivers are among those who will take part in the ASLEF strike, which has been rescheduled from mid-September after it was postponed following the Queen's death. Train and station staff from the same companies who are members of the RMT union are due to walk out on the same day. Its members joining the pickets work for Network Rail and 14 train operators around the country.
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The October 1 rail strike clashes with Newcastle United's away match at Fulham in London on Saturday October 1, which many supporters have already bought train tickets for. Within the capital, London Overground drivers are set to strike too, as are Arriva London staff.
The strike dates will also affect travel to the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham.
ASLEF General secretary Mick Whelan said: “We would much rather not be in this position. We don’t want to go on strike – withdrawing your labour, although a fundamental human right, is always a last resort for this trade union – but the train companies have been determined to force our hand.
“They are telling train drivers to take a real-terms pay cut. With inflation now running at 12.3% – and set, it is said, to go higher – these companies are saying that drivers should be prepared to work just as hard, for just as long, but for considerably less.
“The companies with whom we are in dispute have not offered us a penny. It is outrageous that they expect us to put up with a real-terms pay cut for a third year in a row.
“That’s why we are going on strike – to persuade the companies to be sensible, to do the right thing, and come and negotiate properly with us, not to run up and say, ‘Our hands are tied and the Government will not allow us to offer you an increase’.
“Train drivers kept Britain moving – key workers and goods around the country – throughout the pandemic and we deserve to be treated better than this.
“That’s why we are calling on the companies – which are making big profits and paying their chief executives enormous salaries and bonuses – to make a pay offer to our members to keep up with the rise in the cost of living.”
The RMT's strike follows its own decision to suspend industrial action in the first half of September due to the Queen's funeral. Its members are striking over pay, jobs and conditions in a long-running dispute which saw them walk out over the summer.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Transport workers are joining a wave of strike action on October 1st, sending a clear message to the government and employers that working people will not accept continued attacks on pay and working conditions at a time when big business profits are at an all-time high.
”The summer of solidarity we have seen will continue into the autumn and winter if employers and the government continue to refuse workers reasonable demands.
“We want a settlement to these disputes where our members and their families can get a square deal. And we will not rest until we get a satisfactory outcome.”
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