London’s newest railway the Elizabeth Line is about to be brought to a standstill in a series of walkouts by train divers.
Members of rail union Aslef have voted to take industrial action in a dispute over pay with their employer MTR.
Drivers voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, with 95 per cent in favour, 5 per cent against, on a turnout of 88 per cent.
It means services will be severely disrupted on the line on four separate days over the course of a two-week period.
The route, which stretches more than 60 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, was opened in May 2022.
Industrial action is planned for:
The walkouts by drivers will take place from 00:01 to 23:59 on each of those days.
According to Transport for London (TfL), if these strikes go ahead Elizabeth Line services will be “significantly disrupted”. No other TfL services will be affected by industrial action on these dates but it may mean some are busier than normal.
Customers are advised to check before they travel, to use alternative routes and to allow more time for their journey. More information on the strikes will be made available by TfL nearer the time.
The dispute between drivers and their employer is over pay.
MTR – which is only operating the line until May before Tokyo Metro and Go-Ahead take over – is reported to have offered drivers a 4.5 per cent pay increase, in line with other pay deals agreed by train drivers.
However, Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “Our members have been instrumental in the success of the Elizabeth line – it’s a partnership, in practice, between the company and its employees – but, despite our best efforts, MTR has decided not to recognise the input, the importance, and the value of train drivers in this success.
“I suspect that the company’s intransigence is because it has lost the contract with TfL to run the Elizabeth Line; if that is indeed the case, it is very disappointing to see the company behave this way.”
Nigel Gibson, one of Aslef’s full-time district organisers, added: “Taking action is always a last resort, because we do not want to inconvenience passengers and our members do not want to lose money, and I hope that the company, seeing the strength of feeling among our members, their drivers, will do the right thing and return to the negotiating table.'”
Mike Bagshaw, MTR’s Elizabeth Line managing director, has said the company will continue to engage with the union.
He said the firm was “disappointed that drivers on the Elizabeth Line have rejected a 4.5pc pay rise” as it would “have maintained some of the highest salaries in the industry, along with enhanced terms and conditions.”
TfL has encouraged both sides to “continue working” to resolve the dispute.
Comments
Leave a Comment