Train drivers with operators Northern and TransPennine Express have voted to take strike action, their union revealed on Monday night. Aslef, the train drivers union, said its members at eight train companies backed campaigns of industrial action.
They include Northern and TransPennine Express, which operate trains across Greater Manchester and the north west region. The votes follow highly disruptive strikes by 40,000 RMT union workers across 13 operators and at Network Rail last month, where only a fifth of rail services ran over three days and stations were left empty.
Aslef said drivers voted 'overwhelmingly' to strike over pay, increasing the threat of huge disruption to rail services this summer after recent rail strikes.
Aslef members at Chiltern, LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express, Arriva Rail London, Great Western, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains voted by around 9-1 in favour of strikes on turnouts of more than 80 per cent, said the union.
Train drivers were asked two questions: Are you prepared to take part in industrial action short of a strike? Are you prepared to take part in industrial action consisting of a strike?
At Northern, 1,562 members - or 95.2 per cent - voted yes on a turn-out of 88.5 per cent. At TransPennine Express, 426 members - 94.2 per cent - backed a strike on a turn-out of 84.8 per cent.
No further details - or dates - have been revealed as yet.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: "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 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 per cent 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.
"We're happy to talk to anyone to do a deal and make sure Britain’s railways aren’t disrupted. The government is restricting what the operators can offer, but then refusing to get involved in negotiation. They seem to have no interest in finding a resolution."
"It's not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row. Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain's railways, with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers."
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), meanwhile, is also balloting its members at Network Rail and a number of train operators in England for industrial action. Meanwhile, Aslef members voted to accept an improved pay offer from ScotRail.
The union announced on Monday that its members had accepted proposals on pay and conditions from the newly nationalised rail operator.
The union, meanwhile, said ballots for industrial action would close on Wednesday 27 July at Avanti West Coast, which operates trains from Manchester to London.
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