Train drivers have accepted a pay deal that will see them gain a near-15% pay rise.
The agreement brings to an end more than two years of strike action in England, Scotland and Wales.
Members of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, accepted an offer that included a 5% backdated pay rise for 2022-23, a 4.75% rise for 2023-24, and a 4.5% increase for 2024-25. The offer, which was made in mid-August, is pensionable and includes drivers who retired or left the industry during the dispute.
Industrial action began in July 2022 with walkouts over pay and working conditions. In return for more pay the previous government sought changes to work practices leading to an impasse. In total there were about 20 strikes and several overtime bans.
According to the Rail Delivery Group, the average wage of a train driver in 2023 was £60,055. Under the new deal the average salary will be about £69,000.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said the longest train strike in UK history was “not a fight we sought or wanted. All we sought after five years without a pay rise, working for private companies who, throughout that period, declared millions of pounds in profits and dividends to shareholders, was a dent in the cost of living”.
He said the previous government’s 55 proposed changes to working terms and conditions, which have been dropped from the deal, were the main sticking points, not the issue of pay.
The union has called the agreement a “no-strings deal”, adding it was safeguarding working practices, something “it was not willing to give away for nothing”.
Under the new Labour government, senior officials began direct pay talks with Aslef bosses in July.
Conservative shadow transport secretary Helen Whately criticised the agreement, describing it as a pay rise with “no strings attached for reforms” which would “do nothing to prevent strikes in future”.
Aslef, said 96.6% of its membership – of about 21,000 train drivers – who voted backed the new offer. The turnout was 88.5%.
Meanwhile, the transport union RMT has announced it has received new pay proposals from the government after talks, which included a 4.5% increase for Network Rail staff for 2024.
It added its members working for train operating companies had been offered pay deals of 4.75% for 2023-24, and 4.5% for 2024-25.
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