Peter Lazenby
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TRAIN drivers could be striking for the next four years unless profiteering operators and the government come forward with reasonable pay proposals, their union has warned.
The warning came on Saturday as members of train drivers’ union Aslef shut down many services across England.
Normally busy major stations were devoid of travellers as rail workers continued their battle over pay, conditions and safety.
Rail links between the capital and cities including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh were at a standstill.
The stoppage followed strike action by union RMT on Friday which also disrupted services at 15 rail operating companies.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We do not want to be on strike. But we are in this if it takes us four years, five years, whatever it is, to get a resolution to this, we will do what it takes to get to that resolution.
“We have gone four years without a pay rise, as have many other sectors and many other workers.
“But to stop now after four years, what will happen, we’ll not get a pay rise next year, the year after, the year after that.”
Mr Whelan said that no-one from government had spoken to the union for six months and that a resolution appeared to be “further away than ever, unfortunately.”
Rail workers have rejected a proposed pay increase of 4 per cent this year and 4 per cent next year.
Inflation in Britain is still around 10 per cent, with food price inflation at 17 per cent.
Mr Whelan said: “The way in which it works is that we reacted to a deceitful and spiteful non-offer from the management and the government. And we had to comply with the legislation.”
The government has spent £5 billion in taxpayers’ money attempting to break the rail workers’ action, including compensating operators for lost ticket sales, according to RMT research.
Rail franchises given by the government to operators since privatisation in 1994 include a commitment to compensate them for any profits lost through strike action.
The Department of Transport accused rail unions of “forcing” their members to “miss out on pay” by taking strike action.
