Drivers ‘demonised’

Union boss cries foul

Striking train drivers are the victims of “demonisation”, a union boss said.

The strike by Aslef and RMT members took place after they rejected an 8pc offer that would take average salaries from nearly £60,000 to almost £65,000.

In an interview with ITV’S Good Morning Britain, it was suggested to Mick Whelan, the Aslef general secretary, that train drivers could lose the sympathy of people who earn significantly less.

He said: “The idea of the politics of envy and the demonisation of train drivers and other skilled workers has been going on now for over a year.

“It isn’t about what we earn; it is about what other people don’t earn. I want every nurse... everybody in the fire brigade ... in the public sector, every teacher to have what we have.”