Train drivers have voted to strike over pay and are expected to coordinate a walkout with Network Rail workers this summer in what would be Britain's first national drivers’ strike in 25 years.
There were ballots in favour of industrial action from drivers at eight train companies: Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Great Western, LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
Aslef said its members have not had a pay rise since 2019 and with inflation running near 10% it means drivers have seen their real-terms pay fall over the last three years.
Workers at Network Rail, including those who work on maintenance and control, in the TSSA union have also voted to strike, and adding to the 40,000 RMT members who work for Network Rail and for operating companies who walked out for three days last month and have said they may do again.
Drivers union Aslef having said last week that there could be potential co-ordination with the RMT and the TSSA, which would mean the national rail network would close entirely.
"Strikes are always the last resort," said Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary. "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."
He added it was "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 – and train drivers don’t want to work longer for less."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “It is very disappointing that, rather than commit to serious dialogue with the industry, Aslef are first seeking to cause further misery to passengers by joining others in disrupting the rail network. We urge the union bosses to reconsider and work with its employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward.”
Aslef said before the pandemic, operators were paying out dividends of £262mln and even during the pandemic paid out £38mln, while passenger numbers are almost back to pre-pandemic levels and shareholder payouts are back on the agenda.
Pay deals have been agreed this year between Aslef and several train companies, including Eurostar, Merseyrail, MTR Elizabeth Line, ScotRail, DB Cargo, GB Railfreight and PRE Metro.