Train drivers to strike on FA Cup final day
Footie fans eager to see the FA Cup finals could be in for disruption and dashed dreams after train drivers announced three days of walkouts.
Train drivers will strike on June 3, the same day Manchester United will face off against Manchester City for the silverware at London’s Wembley Stadium, the union ASLEF announced.
Other strike dates include May 12 and May 31 which will see 16 railway operator companies impacted.
What train operators will be affected by the strikes?
On the three days of stoppages, 16 train operators will likely see disruptions:
- Avanti West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- GTR Great Northern Thameslink
- London North Eastern Railway
- Northern Trains
- Southeastern
- Southern/Gatwick Express
- South Western Railway
- SWR depot drivers
- SWR Island Line
- TransPennie Express
- West Midlands Trains
ASLEF, which represents 21,000 train drivers, announced the stoppages after rejecting a ‘risible’ pay offer from the operators.
The union said in a blog post today its members have seen no wage increase since 2019, with the row over pay deepened amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said union bosses met today to reject the offer from the Railway Delivery Group, a rail industry membership body, made the day before.
‘The proposal – of just 4% – was clearly not designed to be accepted as inflation is still running north of 10% and our members at these companies have not had an increase for four years,’ he said.
‘The RDG, in turn, rejected our proposals to modernise Britain’s railways and help them run more efficiently, for passengers and for businesses, in the 21st century.
‘Consequently, we have today announced three more days of strike action – on Friday 12 May, Wednesday 31 May, and Saturday 3 June – at the companies with which we are in dispute, and which are letting down passengers, and taxpayers, so badly.’
Repeated train strikes organised by unions have for the last year hobbled public transport for tens of millions of people.
But with soaring food and fuel prices, train drivers are one of many restive workers – from posties and nurses to bin collectors and barristers – who have looked to industrial action as a last-ditch way to secure a pay rise.
Whelan added: ‘We do not want to go on strike – we do not want to inconvenience passengers, we have families and friends who use the railway, too, and we believe in investing in rail for the future of this country – but the blame for this action lies, fairly and squarely, at the feet of the employers who have forced our hand over this by their intransigence.
‘It is now up to them to come up with a more sensible, and realistic, offer and we ask the government not to hinder this process.’
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.