More rail disruption as union announces new August overtime ban for train drivers

Fifth overtime ban of the year will likely see services cancelled and cut back

Members of the Aslef union on a picket line near to Leeds railway station (PA)

Passengers are being warned of further disruption to train travel after the train drivers’ union announced another week-long overtime ban.

Drivers will refuse to work overtime from Monday 7 August until Saturday 12 August, with the Aslef union claiming services will be “seriously” affected.

It has accused the train companies of failing to employ enough divers to “deliver the services they have promised passengers, and the government, they will run”.

The operatiors affected by the industrial action are: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Island Line, LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.

“We don’t want to take this action – because we don’t want people to be inconvenienced – but the train companies, and the government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place because they refuse to sit down and talk to us and have not made a fair and sensible pay offer to train drivers who have not had one for four years – since 2019 – while prices have soared in that time by more than 12 per cent,” said Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary.

The latest move will follow four previous week-long bans on drivers working overtime – one in May and three in July – affecting trains right across the country.

The latest only ended yesterday (23 July) and picks up again on Monday 31 August, with cancellations expected for the rest of that week, up to and including Saturday 5 August.

The next RMT national rail strike will affect services on both Saturday 29 July and Sunday 30 July.

The Independent has contacted the Rail Delivery Group for comment.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “This government has played its part by facilitating fair and reasonable pay offers that would see generous increases for rail workers. Union leaders should stop blocking their members from having a vote on these offers and give them the chance to help resolve this dispute.”

However, Mr Whelan said that the union hasn’t heard from employers since the end of April, and hasn’t sat down with the government since January, adding: “That shows how little the companies and the government care about passengers and staff. They are happy to let this go on and on.”