A major union representing train drivers in the UK rejected an offer from rail operators, saying it will continue strikes that have disrupted service over the past year.
(Bloomberg) — A major union representing train drivers in the UK rejected an offer from rail operators, saying it will continue strikes that have disrupted service over the past year.
Three more days of job action will take place in May and June, the Aslef union said Thuirsday in a statement, extending the dispute into the early part of summer and complicating plans for two major entertainment events.
Separately, a UK court told government nurses that their plan for more walkouts must end a day early.
Labor unrest has flared across the UK since last year as double-digit inflation squeezes budgets. Aslef said the 4% pay increase proposed by 16 train companies lags behind rising costs, and its members haven’t seen a pay raise since 2019.
Eurovision, FA Cup
Rail walkouts are set for May 12, May 31 and June 3, dates that will upend travel plans for fans attending two events: the Eurovision song competition in Liverpool and the FA Cup football final in London.
The union said it will also withdraw from non-contractual overtime for some dates this summer, further pressuring the UK’s rail network.
“The proposal of just 4% was clearly not designed to be accepted as inflation is still running north of 10%,” Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said in the statement.
Service Requirements
Whelan appeared before a committee in Parliament on Wednesday alongside Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail workers union. They said the government has attempted to pressure train drivers into working to uphold minimum service requirements, despite their disputes over pay and work conditions.
The pay offer to the union was “fair and reasonable,” Max Blain, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, told reporters.
“This is disappointing news for our customers and staff, more strike action is totally unnecessary and will only heap more pressure on an industry already facing an acute financial crisis,” said a spokesman for Rail Delivery Group, which represents the train operators.
Nurse Strikes
Separately, the UK High Court cut short three days of planned strikes by nurses, saying they are only allowed to walk out on April 30 and May 1. The Royal College of Nursing had also called for strikes on May 2, but the judge ruled the union’s six-month mandate for job action will have expired the day before.
Pat Cullen, the RCN’s general secretary, said the union planned to go ahead with the first two days of strikes after balloting its members, saying outside of the Royal Courts of Justice that the NHS had been “run into the ground” during the pandemic.
“The government could not stand by and let plainly unlawful strike action go ahead,” Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said in a statement. He asked the union to call off the strikes altogether.
(Updates with nurses’ strike ruling throughout)
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