ASLEF train drivers’ union members vote overwhelmingly to continue strike action for next six months
Members of ASLEF have voted overwhelmingly to continue strike action for the next six months in their ongoing dispute over pay, the train drivers’ union has announced.
Union members at 12 train operators in England were re-balloted, each returning huge votes in favour of industrial action.
General secretary Mick Whelan said: “We are in this for the long haul. Our members who have not had a pay rise for nearly five years now are determined that the train companies and the Tory government that stands behind them do the right thing.
“The cost of living has soared since the spring and summer of 2019, when these pay deals ran out.
“The bosses at the train companies – as well as Tory MPs and government ministers – have had increases in pay. It’s unrealistic and unfair to expect our members to work just as hard for what, in real terms, is considerably less.”
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The announcement comes as train drivers start a week-long overtime ban which is expected to cause disruption to services across England.
A series of strikes that start from Saturday may cripple some services.
Yesterday, members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union agreed to an offer from train companies for a backdated pay rise of 5% for 2022-2023 and job security guarantees.
The deal means RMT’s mandate to strike has been withdrawn, so there will be no more walkouts until at least spring next year for members of the union.
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ASLEF: ‘We have no choice’
But Mr Whelan said the ASLEF union has not had a meeting with Transport Secretary Mark Harper since December 2022, or with Huw Merriman, the rail minister, since January – or with the private sector train operators, who its members work for, since April.
“We are prepared to come to the table but the government and train companies need to understand that this dispute won’t be resolved by trying to bully our members into accepting worse terms and conditions of employment,” he said.
‘More misery for passengers’
Reacting to the announcement, Mr Merriman said ASLEF are the only rail union still striking and the only union not to have put an offer to its members.
“They are instead choosing to cause more misery for passengers and the hospitality sector this festive period,” he said.
“The fair and reasonable offer that’s long been on the table would bring the average train driver’s salary up to £65,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week.
“ASLEF’s leadership should follow in the footsteps of all the other rail unions by doing the right thing and giving their members a say on that offer.”
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Mr Harper has also called for ASLEF to follow the example of other unions.
“It remains the case that the train drivers’ union ASLEF continue to block their members from having a say on the offer – ASLEF should follow the RMT’s lead and give their members a say,” he said on Thursday.
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
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Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
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