Another rail strike to bring summer strife

RAIL union barons were yesterday accused of plotting to inflict ‘as much misery as possible’ on holidaymakers and sports fans as they called another 24-hour strike to coincide with the Commonwealth Games.

Train drivers’ union Aslef said workers for eight operators will walk out on July 30, hitting the third day of the Games in Birmingham, when athletics, swimming and cycling events are taking place.

Drivers for Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains will walk out.

It comes after the militant RMT announced on Wednesday a 24-hour strike for July 27, the day before the Games begins.

Shift patterns of key staff represented by the union, such as signallers, mean network disruption will spill into July 28, the day of the opening ceremony. Only one in five services is likely to run the day before.

TSSA, a third union representing rail workers, has also announced station staff who work for Avanti West Coast will join RMT workers by striking on July

27. The operator services the key West Coast Main Line, connecting Birmingham with major cities such as London and Manchester.

It means Britain’s three biggest rail unions, representing around 90,000 workers, have ordered walkouts within a few days of each other to coincide with the Games.

The action will also hit domestic holidaymakers and those travelling to airports. In May, the Mail revealed how union leaders were plotting a ‘summer of discontent’ on the railways.

Aslef wants pay rises in line with inflation for its members, despite their average salary already being around £60,000. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘It’s disappointing that Aslef bosses have opted for strike action, instead of engaging in constructive talks.

‘And by cynically orchestrating strike dates with the Commonwealth Games, it’s clear union bosses are determined to cause as much misery as possible.’

He added that train drivers earn ‘more than twice the UK average and significantly more than the very workers who will be most impacted by these strikes’.

Ministers want the rail industry to make savings of £2billion after bailing it out to the tune of £16billion during the pandemic. Aslef chief Mick Whelan and his deputy Simon Weller pocketed pay rises of more than 10 per cent last year when inflation was at 2.6 per cent.

Mr Whelan said: ‘Drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years. These companies are offering us nothing, saying their hands have been tied by the Government.’ RMT has been offered a pay rise by Network Rail of 8 per cent over two years, but rejected it. TSSA has also rejected an offer from Network Rail.