ASLEF reaches deal with Southern Railway to end dispute

Southern Railway and the drivers’ union ASLEF have announced they have reached agreement to end a dispute that has been running since April 2016.

Union members are now being balloted, with a result expected on November 8.

Under the proposed multi-year deal, drivers would receive a 28.5% pay increase in stages by 2020. That would take earnings from £49,000 to £63,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week. The company added that drivers typically earn a further £10,000 in overtime payments.

ASLEF said the deal would lead to a second member of staff being present on trains, except in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

Although the union believes that the deal represents a compromise, it felt that after 18 months of disputes, drivers were keen to bring the battle with their employer to an end.

With regards to the ‘exceptional circumstances’ detailed in the agreement, from January 2 2018, there will be only three scenarios under which the train will run with just the driver in charge:

Late notification of On Board Supervisor (OBS) sickness or the granting of emergency absence.

OBS displaced by service disruption, late running or driver/ OBS error.

OBS unable to continue duty, for example through sickness.

The agreement states: “Before applying any of the reasons, all other options for OBS provision must have been fully exhausted.”

Southern promises to employ On Board Supervisors based on “a minimum ratio of 2:1 OBSs to running turns for services covered by this agreement.”

Train crew have told RAIL that the modifications to the wording are minor compared with arrangements that have been in place since January 1, when drivers took over operation of most train doors and a new role of OBS was imposed on guards.

General Secretary Mick Whelan said: “The proposed agreement on Driver Only Operation means we will have a second safety-trained person on every train covered by this agreement, except in exceptional circumstances. That person will have all the relevant safety competence, including the skills to evacuate passengers in an emergency. This is, we think, a complete resolution of our longstanding issues with Southern.”

It is the third time ASLEF has reached a deal with the company and advised its members to accept it. On both previous occasions the drivers rejected the advice of their own union, and turned it down.

If the drivers reject it a third time, it would amount to a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the union leadership.

ASLEF held six days of strikes during the dispute. An overtime ban last winter resulted in an emergency timetable that led to up to 350 services a day being cancelled.

ASLEF stated that the deal was specific to its 1,000 drivers on Southern and Gatwick Express. It said it does not imply acceptance of DOO at other train operators.