Train strikes: Drivers set to walk out again in April
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The individual who reports on business for BBC News
Next month, there will be another strike by train drivers who have been involved in a dispute over their pay and working conditions for a long time.
Starting from the 5th to the 8th of April, employees who are part of Aslef in 16 different railway corporations will participate in a series of one-day strikes. In addition to this, there will also be a restriction on working overtime for six consecutive days.
The labor organization announced that the fresh labor strike was intended to "escalate the tension" towards railway corporations to grant a salary increase.
According to train companies, strikes cause no benefit for anyone and they aim to reduce the disturbance caused to their services.
The most recent activity will probably result in the scrapping of plans and lateness.
The disagreement between Aslef leaders and rail companies has not seen much advancement since the union began its strikes in July 2022. In the 20-month dispute, there have been 14 occasions when the union has called for one-day strikes.
The latest payment proposal offered about a year ago in April 2023 was not accepted. It required drivers to agree on implementing alterations to their training and work schedules at specific transport organizations, along with accepting a consecutive 4% raise for two years.
There hasn't been any official communication since then.
Moreover, Underground operators in London who are part of the Aslef union are scheduled to initiate strikes during the months of April and May.
Strike Dates: When Are They Scheduled?
In addition to the scheduled absences, members of Aslef will also decline to work their allotted days off from Thursday the 4th to Saturday the 6th of April, as well as from Monday the 8th to Tuesday the 9th of the same month. This decision was made public by the union.
The chief of Aslef, Mick Whelan, has requested that the train firms and administration partake in valuable discussions to talk about a new salary arrangement for the train operators. He stated that the drivers haven't received a pay raise since the year 2019.
Once again, our fellow members have voted in majority for a strike action. The votes clearly indicate that train drivers have firmly refused the unreasonable offer presented to us in April of the previous year.
We have provided the government with numerous chances to engage in negotiations, but it appears that they have no interest in finding a resolution to the conflict. They seem content with allowing it to continue indefinitely.
This year, the typical income for individuals who operate trains was £59,189 annually.
The train operators have put forward the point that there needs to be a shift in the work approach of drivers in order to increase wages. This is due to the financial challenges the industry is currently facing, as well as to ensure fairness towards taxpayers.
According to Aslef, drivers are being requested to give up their working conditions.
According to the Rail Delivery Group, which speaks for train firms, they wish to settle the conflict but pointed out that Aslef's leaders should realize that taxpayers are under a lot of stress and are already contributing an extra £54m per week to keep the services going after the pandemic.
No one benefits when protests in the workplace affect the lives and jobs of individuals, and we will put in a lot of effort to decrease any disturbance for our travelers.
Although the private train businesses are involved in the disagreement regarding payment and terms, it is the government that has command over the funds available and ultimately decides on the proposal that is offered.
Aslef is the sole rail union still conducting strikes, according to the Department for Transport. The department highlighted that other conflicts, particularly with the RMT rail workers union, had been settled.
As per the announcement, the transport secretary and rail minister have successfully dealt with conflicts with all other railway unions and now have presented a proposal for payment. This proposal will increase train drivers' mean earnings from the previous rate of £60,000 to £65,000.
