Train drivers union, ASLEF have announced new dates for strike action to commence this September. ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan is under pressure from the ASLEF membership to intensify industrial action against 16 rail operating companies for improved pay and conditions.
Whelan commented that “…the longer it goes on without any contact from the government or any of the employers to resolve the situation, we may have to go harder and faster to make our voice heard.”
Whelan also pointed out that ASLEF’s members have received no pay increase since 2019, long before the onset of the cost of living crisis. ASLEF members are also considering a campaign for an all-out ban on overtime work, a vital health and safety measure to prevent potentially fatal rail accidents.
ASLEF’s promise of strike action intersects with upcoming action by Britain’s largest rail union, the RMT this coming month. Together, as unions organised in one of the most strategic sector of Britain’s economy, ASLEF and the RMT have huge potential to demand nothing but the very best for their members and passengers.
ASLEF have rejected the pathetic 8% pay offer (a drastic pay cut in real terms).
The Workers Party stands by the ongoing strike action by ASLEF and the RMT and would support further attempts to coordinate their strike action for maximum impact against the government and rail bosses. Workers Party members ought to make every effort to attend picket lines organised by rail workers in their fight for better pay and conditions as well as the broader struggle for workers power and social justice.