Train drivers are to launch a week-long ban on overtime, threatening to disrupt services further after a week of Tube and rail strikes.
Drivers at 15 train operating companies will launch another ban on overtime from Monday July 31 to Saturday August 5 amid a long-running dispute over pay, Aslef has announed.
It will be the fourth week-long ban on non-contractual overtime - known as rest day working - since May.
It comes after Tube and National Rail strikes are set to cause headaches for Londoners between July 20 and 29.
Aslef said train companies did not employ enough drivers, which was why they are dependent on rest day working, which the union pointed out was voluntary.
The action will affect Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; Cross Country; East Midlands Railway; Greater Anglia; Great Western Railway; GTR Great Northern Thameslink; Island Line; LNER; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Southern/Gatwick Express; South Western Railway main line; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains.
Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “We don’t want to take this action. We don’t want people to be inconvenienced, but the blame lies with the train companies, and the Government which stands behind them, which refuse to sit down and talk to us, and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer to train drivers who have not had one for four years – since 2019 – while prices have soared in that time by more than 12 per cent.
“The proposal they made on April 26 of four per cent with a further rise dependent, in a naked land grab, on drivers giving up terms and conditions for which we have fought, and negotiated, for years was not designed to be accepted.
“We have not heard a word from the employers since then – not a meeting, not a phone call, not a text message, nor an email – for the last 12 weeks, and we haven’t sat down with the Government since January 6.”
The overtime ban is expected to “seriously” disrupt rail services, the union said.
It follows three previous week-long bans on working overtime launched by Aslef - between May 15 and 20, July 3 and 8, and July 17 and 22.
Strikes on the Tube have been announced by a number of unions for between July 23 and 29. If they go ahead, there will be “severe disruption” across the whole Tube network on these days, Transport for London (TfL) warned.
TfL sources told the Standard that talks between union chiefs and TfL had been scheduled to take place last Thursday - with more likely this week - and that there were hopes that the “wall of silence” between the two sides that existed in past disputes could be avoided.
Unite said hundreds of its members in engineering, maintenance and management roles will walk out on July 26 and 28.
Aslef, which represents the vast majority of Tube drivers, has already said its members would go on strike over feared changed to their pensions and working conditions on the same days.
This will overlap with a week-long “rolling” action called by the RMT union, which represents about 10,000 station staff – meaning Transport for London bosses will be left with little option but to shut the network for much of the week.
Rail strikes are planned for July 20, 22 and 29, the RMT union announced.
Train services are set to start later and finish “much earlier than usual” on strike days, with half of train services running in some areas, while other areas will have no services at all.
Passengers are urged to check the National Rail website for updates and to plan ahead.
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: “Aslef’s leadership continues to disrupt customers’ travel plans. They rejected a fair and affordable offer without putting it to their members, which would take average driver base salaries for a 4 day week without overtime from £60,000 to nearly £65,000 by the end of 2023 pay awards.
“Train companies will work hard to minimise the impact of the overtime ban overtime ban at 13 train operating companies between 31 July and 5 August that will affect the level of cancellations and the punctuality of some services. Customers are advised to plan their journey in advance and check before they travel.
“We ask Aslef to recognise the very real financial challenge the industry is facing and work with us to deliver a better, more reliable railway with a strong long-term future.”
