Rail strikes may go on for months as workers are ‘in it for the long haul’, union boss says
- Strike by staff at 13 rail companies yesterday came after Saturday mass walkouts
- Around 9,000 union members staged action over pay and conditions
- It is just the latest round of chaos following a summer of industrial action
Union barons threatened months more rail chaos last night after yet another round of train strike misery.
Services were cancelled across the country as around 9,000 members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) staged action over pay and conditions.
Yesterday’s strike by staff at 13 rail companies came after mass walkouts on Saturday and is the latest round of chaos following a summer of industrial action which union leaders have vowed to drag into next year.
Union barons threatened months more rail chaos last night after yet another round of train strike misery
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘The message I am receiving from my members is that they are in this for the long haul and if anything they want industrial action to be increased.’
The TSSA plans to strike until Saturday, when members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at more than a dozen train companies and Network Rail will also take action.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘It is incredibly disappointing that, for the second time in five days, we face disruption on our railways. We urge union bosses to reconsider this divisive action.’
Services were cancelled across the country as around 9,000 members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) staged action over pay and conditions
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, who joined an Aslef picket line outside Euston station yesterday, said: ‘We’re reballoting now to get a fresh mandate for the next six months – if there’s not a settlement there’ll be more action, that’s how it works.
‘Everywhere we go the public are supporting us in numbers. They turn out on the rallies and the demonstrations as well.’
He said negotiations with the rail companies were continuing this week but union leaders had ‘not seen anything tangible besides a handshake and a cup of tea at this stage’.
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme she now sees ‘more clearly’ the perspective of the railway workers after meeting with Mr Whelan and Mr Lynch.
She said she ‘really wanted to understand where they’re coming from’.
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