Train drivers add to chaos as they join 24-hour strike

TRAIN drivers refused to cross picket lines yesterday during the biggest rail strike since privatisation – even though they weren’t in the union behind the walkout.

The 24-hour industrial action was held to protest against plans for driver- only trains on Southern, Northern and Merseyrail services.

Called by the RMT union, which mostly represents conductors, the strike of up to 2,000 staff disrupted travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Some drivers are in the RMT and were participating legitimately in the strike. However, most were members of Aslef, which was not meant to be involved.

Secondary industrial action is illegal. But unofficial involvement by Aslef members was hailed by RMT leaders involved in the long-running Southern dispute.

An Aslef spokesman said: ‘It would be unlawful for us to tell drivers not to cross pickets. This is not an action to which Aslef is a party.

‘Aslef has not offered advice to drivers one way or another. We have not broken the law. It’s a matter for individual consciences.’

However, Malcolm Chilsholm, an RMT organiser on Southern, said: ‘Well done to the drivers on Merseyrail for supporting the RMT.

‘We need to build our solidarity on Southern to the level on Merseyrail so that the dispute will have maximum effect.’

Robert Flello, a Labour MP on the Commons transport committee, said he supported the strikes, although he admitted they were a ‘tragedy’ for passengers.

Asked about the failure of Aslef drivers to turn up to work, he said: ‘If this is an unofficial strike there are legal implications. I’d be very concerned if Aslef has not taken proper legal advice.’

An RMT spokesman said: ‘RMT is involved in a legitimate trade dispute. RMT does not speak on behalf of our sister trade unions or their members.’

Unions are angry that Southern is introducing trains on which the drivers open and close doors, not guards and conductors. They claim it is unsafe, even though driver-only trains have been used for 30 years and are approved by independent safety watchdogs.

Many commuters faced with

‘If this is unofficial, I’d be concerned’

delays or cancellations were unsympathetic to the unions’ case. Charity co- ordinator Samuel Cooke, 27, said he feared he would miss a flight to Indonesia after being delayed by 30 minutes travelling to Manchester Airport.

Mr Cooke, from York, said: ‘This is affecting thousands of people. I don’t think it’s fair.’

Sales manager Sam Cunliffe, 24, who normally travels between Manchester and Liverpool by train for meetings, said he had to ‘completely rejig’ his plans yesterday.

‘It affects me personally as well, it hits my sales bonus. It’s a huge inconvenience for me,’ he said.

Student Jess Miller, 21, from Barnsley, said ‘selfish’ strikers had ‘let people down’.

But Elizabeth Adams, 27, a law lecturer from Merseyside, said: ‘It was a bit of an inconvenience. But I can totally see why they are striking. We do need guards on trains.’

Merseyrail, which normally has 95 drivers working on weekdays, said none crossed picket lines yesterday, leaving the company’s emergency timetable in tatters. It normally runs more than 800 trains a day carrying 110,000 passengers. There was no time to organise replacement buses and only a very limited train service ran, staffed by 12 managers.

Northern, which normally runs 2,600 services on a weekday carry- ing more than 220,000 people, said it was able to operate its strike timetable, running 40 per cent of normal services, although some of those were provided by buses.

Commuters on Southern also endured more disruption, with guards staging the 30th day of walkouts yesterday.

But Southern said it had been able to run almost 90 per cent of its services from noon.

Aslef reached a truce with Southern in January to call off further strikes. But in a blow to commuters across the South East, 54 per cent of drivers voted to reject the agreement and continue with their protest against driver-only trains.

Theresa May’s official spokesman said the Prime Minister was ‘disappointed... that once again the RMT are disrupting passengers’. He added: ‘These strikes are unnecessary. The RMT should return to talks and help deliver the high-quality rail services that passengers deserve.’