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Nationwide rail strikes by practice drivers will enter their twenty second month with a collection of rolling walk-outs subsequent month.
Members of the Aslef union plan to halt 1000’s of trains on 5, 6 and eight April. The purpose is to disrupt the 14 rail companies in England which can be managed by the UK authorities and represented by the Rail Supply Group (RDG).
As well as, 5 days of time beyond regulation bans will trigger additional cancellations.
Mick Whelan, basic secretary of the practice drivers’ union, Aslef, throughout a earlier strike
(PA)
The earlier nationwide industrial motion by practice drivers, comprising an time beyond regulation ban and “rolling” regional walk-outs, hit for 9 days from 29 January to six February.
The purpose of those rolling strikes and the ban on rest-day working is to trigger most disruption for minimal lack of pay.
Industrial motion by Aslef in a dispute over pay and dealing preparations started in July 2022. The union is demanding a no-strings pay award, however rail companies – directed by ministers – say any enhance is contingent on radical reforms to working practices with a purpose to cut back public subsidies.
Through the dispute, tons of of thousands and thousands of journeys have been cancelled. Billions of kilos have been misplaced to the UK financial system – notably hospitality companies – and taxpayers are pumping money into an more and more decrepit and unreliable railway to the tune of £90 per second on prime of the traditional subsidy.
The quarrel has change into more and more bitter, with no signal of any progress in the direction of a settlement.
The most recent walk-outs can be along with two days of strikes by Aslef members who drive trains for the London Underground.
One purpose of the following industrial motion is to convey the capital to a close to standstill on Monday 8 April when the overwhelming majority of Tube and commuter trains can be cancelled.
Caught in the midst of a seemingly intractable dispute: the passenger. In a snap social media ballot for The Unbiased, with 2,142 responses, one in three passengers say they may completely journey much less after the economic motion lastly ends.
These are the important thing questions and solutions.
Which rail companies are concerned?
Aslef is in dispute with the 14 practice operators which can be contracted by the UK authorities to offer rail providers. They’re:
Intercity operators:
Avanti West Coast
CrossCountry
East Midlands Railway
Nice Western Railway (GWR)
LNER
TransPennine Specific
Southeast England commuter operators:
C2C
Better Anglia
GTR (Gatwick Specific, Nice Northern, Southern, Thameslink)
Southeastern
South Western Railway (together with the Island Line on the Isle of Wight)
Operators specializing in the Midlands and north of England:
Chiltern Railways
Northern Trains
West Midlands Railway (together with London Northwestern Railway)
Which rail companies usually are not concerned?
ScotRail, Transport for Wales, Transport for London (together with the Elizabeth line), Merseyrail and “open-access” operators corresponding to Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo. However their providers are crowded on days of commercial motion, the place they duplicate journeys of strike-hit corporations.
When are the practice drivers strolling out?
Drivers belonging to the Aslef union will strike within the following sample:
Friday 5 April
Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains and CrossCountry. The purpose is to trigger most disruption on key intercity strains in addition to Midland commuter providers.
Saturday 6 April
Chiltern, GWR, LNER, Northern and TransPennine Trains. This strike is designed to hit rail passengers within the north and west of England, in addition to the day’s soccer programme. Within the Premier League, it would hit Newcastle followers travelling to Fulham in London.
Monday 8 April
C2C, Better Anglia, Nice Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Specific, South Western Railway. This can hit London notably exhausting, with virtually all Tube providers dropped at a halt by the London Underground walkout by Aslef members.
What’s the prediction for the results at every operator?
These are the doubtless service patterns primarily based on earlier expertise.
Friday 5 April
The 4 practice operators – Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains and CrossCountry – are prone to cancel all providers.
Saturday 6 April
Chiltern, Northern and TransPennine Trains are prone to cancel all providers.
GWR and LNER will run a skeleton service on their core strains between round 7am and 7pm.
GWR will run hourly trains between London and Bristol Temple Meads, in addition to a hyperlink from Bristol to Cardiff and a few department routes.
LNER will run on its most important Edinburgh-Newcastle-York-London line at the very least as soon as an hour, with some further trains on the southern a part of the community.
Monday 8 April
C2C, Gatwick Specific, Nice Northern, Thameslink and Southeastern are prone to cancel all providers.
Better Anglia will run to and from London Liverpool Avenue to Stansted airport, Southend, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.
Southern will run a shuttle service between London Victoria and Gatwick airport.
South Western Railway will run between London Waterloo, Woking and Guildford, with another suburban providers doubtless.
What concerning the time beyond regulation ban?
Members will even refuse to work their relaxation days from Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 April and from Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 April. As many rail companies rely upon drivers working time beyond regulation, tons of – presumably 1000’s – of trains can be cancelled.
What’s at stake?
The practice drivers demand a pay rise to mirror excessive ranges of inflation since they final received a pay award; Aslef says some members haven’t had a rise for 5 years.
However the authorities insists that even a modest pay enhance is contingent on radical adjustments to long-standing working preparations with a purpose to cut back prices – and the large subsidies the railway is at present receiving from the taxpayer.
For the reason that pandemic, journey patterns have modified. Ticket income is about one-fifth down on pre-Covid ranges. As taxpayers will foot the eventual invoice for the practice drivers’ pay rise, the Treasury in addition to the Division for Transport will log off any deal.
Ministers imagine practice drivers’ phrases and circumstances are a part of the issue. To maintain prices down, they have to settle for adjustments to how they work, corresponding to making Sunday a part of the working week in every single place.
On 27 April 2023 the Rail Supply Group provided a pay enhance of 4 plus 4 per cent over two years masking the 2022 and 2023 pay awards – topic to a bunch of adjustments on phrases and circumstances, masking a variety of points together with driver coaching, Sunday working, sick pay and new expertise.
The union say that is utterly unacceptable. The practice drivers will negotiate on adjustments, however solely after they get an honest no-strings pay provide on prime of their present pay.
They imagine the cash can be discovered to fulfill their calls for, because it all the time has been up to now. Aslef has additionally all the time “bought” reforms to working preparations for an additional few per cent on their pay and does intend to alter that course of.
In the meantime, the corrosion in confidence amongst travellers continues, with no rail passenger capable of plan journeys greater than two weeks forward – that being the minimal discover the union should give for industrial motion.
What does the union say?
The final secretary of Aslef, Mick Whelan, mentioned: “Our members voted overwhelmingly – but once more – for strike motion. These votes present – but once more – a transparent rejection by practice drivers of the ridiculous provide put to us in April final 12 months by the Rail Supply Group which knew that provide can be rejected as a result of a land seize for all of the phrases and circumstances we’ve got negotiated over time would by no means be accepted by our members.
“Since then practice drivers have voted, repeatedly, to take motion in pursuit of a pay rise. That’s why Mark Harper, the transport secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that provide ought to have been put to members. Drivers wouldn’t vote for industrial motion, time and again and once more, in the event that they thought that was an excellent provide. They don’t. That provide was lifeless within the water in April final 12 months – and Mr Harper is aware of that.
“We requested Mr Harper, or his deputy, the rail minister Huw Merriman, to come back and meet us. We requested the RDG and the TOCs to come back and discuss to us. We mentioned, ‘Let’s sit across the desk and negotiate.’ Since you say you don’t need any extra industrial motion, and we don’t wish to disrupt the rail community. However the Tories and the TOCs [train operating companies] have given us no alternative.
“We’ve given the federal government each alternative to come back to the desk however it’s now clear they don’t wish to resolve this dispute. They’re comfortable for it go on and on. As a result of we’re not going to surrender.
“Many members have no longer had a single penny enhance in pay for half a decade.”
What do the employers and authorities say?
Earlier this 12 months, rail minister Huw Merriman instructed The Unbiased: “We imagine a good and affordable provide is there on the desk for Aslef in the event that they put it to their members. These are practice drivers which can be paid a median £60,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week. The pay deal would take them as much as £65,000.”
A spokesperson for Rail Supply Group, representing the practice operators, mentioned: “No person wins when industrial motion impacts folks’s lives and livelihoods, and we’ll work exhausting to minimise any disruption to our passengers.
“We wish to resolve this dispute, however the Aslef management must recognise that hard-pressed taxpayers are persevering with to contribute an additional £54 million every week simply to maintain providers working post-Covid.
“We proceed to hunt an settlement with the Aslef management and stay open to talks to discover a answer to this dispute.”
What does the Labour Occasion say?
Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, mentioned: “It’s a staggering dereliction of responsibility that the transport secretary hasn’t received across the desk with the unions to attempt to resolve it for the reason that Christmas earlier than final.
“Labour will take an unashamedly totally different strategy to the Tories, and can work with either side to achieve a deal within the pursuits of passengers and staff. If the transport secretary took this wise strategy then maybe we wouldn’t nonetheless be having strikes on our railways.”
How a lot has all of the disruption value?
Based on the RDG, industrial motion from June 2022 up till mid-January 2024 value the rail sector round £775m in misplaced income. That doesn’t embrace the affect of the latest strikes and time beyond regulation bans, which most likely add an extra £100m to the losses.
UKHospitality estimates the misplaced enterprise for locations to eat, drink and keep quantities to virtually £5 billion. Kate Nicholls, the organisation’s chief govt, says: “Ongoing strike motion hurts companies, prevents folks from attending to work and considerably erodes confidence within the rail community.”
As well as, there may be an unknowable lack of income from passengers who’ve adjusted their life or discovered different types of transport; companies which have stopped making journeys and are utilizing on-line communication as an alternative; and other people trimming again on journey due to the dearth of certainty.
What concerning the new minimal service ranges regulation?
Laws now permits the transport secretary to stipulate minimal service ranges (MSLs) on strike days amounting to 40 per cent of the traditional service. The federal government says the Strikes (Minimal Service Ranges) Act 2023 goals “to make sure that the general public can proceed to entry providers that they depend on, throughout strike motion”.
No practice operator is searching for to impose the brand new regulation on the practice drivers’ union. LNER mentioned it would achieve this earlier this 12 months, and opened consultations. Aslef instantly known as a separate five-day strike on LNER alone. Then the practice operator mentioned it will not require drivers to work, and the strike was known as off.
The Transport Choose Committee has beforehand warned of potential unintended penalties of the laws. The Conservative chair, Iain Stewart, mentioned: “There’s a threat of MSLs worsening worker-employer relations and that, consequently, MSLs may find yourself making providers much less dependable.”
The minimal service degree guidelines don’t apply to union bans on non-contractual rest-day working – so there can be no profit in imposing the regulation when an time beyond regulation ban is in drive.
What’s the Tube dispute about?
Prepare drivers members of Aslef working for the London Underground will stroll out on Monday 8 April and Saturday 4 Could, bringing virtually your complete Tube community to a standstill.
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser for the Tube, blamed the employer for eager to impose adjustments to working preparations, saying: “They need drivers to work longer shifts, spending as much as 25 per cent extra time within the cab, and to take away all present working agreements within the identify of ‘flexibility and effectivity’.”
A Transport for London spokesperson mentioned: “We’ve been in long-term discussions with our commerce union colleagues on tips on how to modernise procedures and processes on London Underground to enhance the expertise each for workers and clients.
“We’ve no plans to impose these adjustments and have dedicated to nobody dropping their job as a part of these adjustments, and we’ve got engaged with our unions to display that no change can be made that compromises our steadfast dedication to security on the Tube community.
“We urge Aslef to proceed discussions with us in order that disruption for Londoners could be averted.”
