A new train strike has been announced on the East Coast main line, just days after Aslef and the government agreed a national pay deal in England.
The new industrial action, involving Aslef members working for LNER, could see train drivers walking out at weekends from 31 August to 10 November.
Aslef has said the 22 days of planned strikes are in response to “bullying by management and persistent breaking of agreements by the company” but added the action was unrelated to the pay dispute that saw two years of strikes by train drivers in England.
Railway sector
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said LNER had not followed through on its commitments: “The continued failure of the company to resolve longstanding industrial relations issues has forced us into this position. We would much rather not be here.
“But the company has brutally and repeatedly broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith.
“When we make an agreement, we stick to it. This company doesn’t. And we are not prepared to put up with their boorish behaviour and bullying tactics.”
LNER is the main operator between London King’s Cross, Yorkshire, north-east England and Scotland. Previous strikes by train drivers had seen about 40% of the normal service still running on the core line from London via York and Newcastle to Edinburgh.
The Department for Transport owns LNER, taking over the franchise after Virgin Trains East Coast handed it back to the government in 2018.
Train drivers will start voting on the national pay offer agreed with the government on 28 August, with a large majority expected to approve the deal.
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