Rail workers across the country are scheduled to strike over the coming months as they fight for better pay, following on from plans announced earlier today for London Underground workers to walk out.
Aslef union members working for rail operators across the country will strike between Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 April and then from Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 April.
Other strikes across rail operators such as West Midlands Trains, TransPenine Trains and South Western Railway will take place on separate days between Friday 5 April and Monday 8 April.
Mick Whelan, the union's general secretary, said: "‘We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it is now clear they do not want to resolve this dispute. They are happy for it go on and on. Because we are not going to give up.
"Many members have now not had a single penny increase in pay for half a decade, during which time inflation has soared and, with it, the cost of living.
"We didn’t ask for an increase during the pandemic, when we worked through lockdown, as key workers, risking our lives, to move goods around the country and enable NHS and other workers to get to work."