1 year ago
24
Image source, PA Media
By Katy Austin
Transport correspondent
Rail passengers are being warned of disruption for the adjacent six days, owed to an overtime prohibition by bid drivers successful the Aslef union.
Sixteen bid companies based successful England volition beryllium deed from Monday until Saturday. Many volition trim their work levels.
It is the latest determination successful Aslef's long-running wage dispute. Strikes by different obstruction workers successful the RMT national are acceptable to instrumentality spot aboriginal this month.
Passengers are being advised to cheque earlier they travel.
Most bid companies trust connected drivers moving overtime to tally their afloat schedules.
Among the disruption expected:
- South Western Railway says it volition tally a reduced timetable with immoderate archetypal and past trains cancelled. Its services are apt to beryllium busier than usual, and customers heading to the Wimbledon tennis championships are being advised to let other clip for their journeys
- Northern is advising passengers to expect immoderate services to commencement aboriginal and decorativeness earlier than usual, arsenic good arsenic short-notice cancellations
- Great Western Railway expects immoderate short-notice alterations oregon cancellations, and says its Night Riviera Sleeper work volition not tally successful either absorption until Sunday
- Chiltern Railways is informing customers lone to question if perfectly indispensable connected Saturday. Its trains volition not halt astatine the presumption by Wembley Stadium, which is hosting a performance by Blur.
Last month, Aslef members astatine 10 operators backed further onslaught action, meaning it could past for different six months if there's nary settlement.
The national has already rejected proposals that would person seen wage emergence by 4% 2 years successful a row, bringing drivers' mean wage to £65,000.
This would person been contingent connected changes to moving practices, which the employers and authorities - who dictate what is nether treatment successful talks - accidental are needed to chopped costs and modernise however the railway runs.
Aslef argues members should not person to sacrifice moving conditions successful instrumentality for a beneath ostentation wage increase.
Ticket bureau closures
Aslef does not person immoderate further strikes planned astatine present.
But workers specified arsenic bid guards successful the RMT union are expected to locomotion retired connected 20, 22 and 29 July successful their quality implicit pay, jobs and moving conditions.
It has present lasted implicit a year. With nary solution successful sight, the bid companies are preparing to determination up with plans to adjacent hundreds of summons offices.
The Rail Delivery Group said lone 12% of tickets were present sold astatine presumption kiosks. Its spokesperson said nether projected changes unit would beryllium moved connected to concourses to assistance and counsel much customers. They added that employees and the nationalist would beryllium consulted astir immoderate changes.
But RMT wide caput Mick Lynch said earlier this week his national would not "meekly beryllium by and let thousands of jobs to beryllium sacrificed oregon spot disabled and susceptible passengers near incapable to usage the railways arsenic a result".
The national suggested it could instrumentality further concern enactment implicit the issue.
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