Union leader accuses Shapps of lying about negotiations
The Aslef union has accused the Transport Secretary of “lying” about this summer’s rail strike negotiations.
Grant Shapps had written in the Times: “The ‘two Micks’, RMT’s Lynch and Aslef’s Whelan, are taking the taxpayer for a ride, but not in the way they are intended.
“RMT is stalling reform and Aslef is dragging its feet on negotiations while both are calling for more strikes. Enough.”
Mick Whelan, General Secretary of Aslef Picture: Nick Ansell/PA
In response, Whelan told Times Radio this morning:
I say Mr. Shapps is lying, plain and simple.
We are not dragging our feet in negotiations, we negotiate with 14 private companies, we do not work for the government or the DfT [Department for Transport].”
I wish Mr. Shapps would get us out of this catch-22 situation that he misrepresents at every opportunity.
Updated at 10.05am BST
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Key Events (8)Aslef (14)Labour Party (6)Mick Whelan (6)RMT (5)Grant Shapps (3)
The Department for Transport has said it is “misleading” to suggest Grant Shapps is involved in negotiations over wages and working practices.
Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary, accused the Transport Secretary of “lying” about the strike negotiations, telling Times Radio: “”We are not dragging our feet in the negotiations, we are negotiating with 14 private companies, we are not working for the Government or the DfT (Department for Transport)”.
Whelan said strikes were “a last resort”. Many of Aslef’s members had not had a pay rise for three years, he said, despite working during the pandemic, and were now experiencing a pay cut in real terms due to inflation.
The Department for Transport described the suggestion that Shapps should be involved as “extremely misleading”. His statement said: “Its role is to protect the public purse, ensuring value for money for the working people of this country.
“As such, it must set the limits of taxpayer support and ultimately sign any agreement, not participate in negotiating one, and its carrier contracts allow it to do just that.”
Hitachi railway workers will go on strike from Sunday
Hitachi rail workers will strike for three days starting Sunday over pay and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), whose jobs include maintenance, are in dispute over pay and issues such as breaks, leave and shift length.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members know the value of their work and Hitachi Rail will not be disrupted.
“I congratulate our members on this strong industrial response and RMT will support further strike action until they receive a fair deal.”
Updated at 12.57 BST
Jessica Murray
The Guardian’s Midlands correspondent Jessica Murray reports from Birmingham, where rail strikes are disrupting one of the busiest days of the Commonwealth Games:
Snow Hill station in central Birmingham was closed on Saturday with no trains running from the site, where picketers were just meters from the marathon route which closed many roads in the city.
The picket line featured a cardboard cut-out face of Keir Starmer, a reference to the Labor leader’s ban on MPs joining strikers.
Aslef’s picket line outside Snow Hill Station in Birmingham. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer
The strikers, from the train drivers’ union Aslef, said they were on strike because rising inflation drove down the value of workers’ wages, while rail bosses pocketed huge salaries.
Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, said the RMT strike on Wednesday had had little impact on the Games, but Saturday would be a “big test”.
“We are absolutely determined that people can still travel to the West Midlands and then use public transport to get to the venues. This has always been a public transport Games,” he said, adding that an extra 600 buses were being used to help visitors get to the 16 spaces where the events took place.
“We are determined not to let Aslef destroy the success of the Games,” he said. “It is a rather cynical manipulation of the Games to call their strike on the first Saturday of the event. It’s an international celebration and I think it’s a great shame that they’re being targeted in this way.”
A number of rail operators, including Avanti, Chiltern and Cross Country, were expected to operate as normal, meaning it would still be possible for people from across the country to travel to Birmingham for the event, although it was expected the services were very busy.
Updated at 12.49 BST
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, the machinists’ union, said Grant Shapps “cannot hide any longer” and must “stop misinforming the public”.
Asked what he would say to the transport secretary, Whelan replied: “Mr Shapps, you can’t keep hiding. At some point, someone has to stop misinforming the public [and] tell the truth about the contracts you signed with these people.”
It comes after Whelan accused Shapps of “lying” about this summer’s rail strike negotiations. He told Times Radio this morning:
I say Mr. Shapps is lying, plain and simple.
We are not dragging our feet in the negotiations; we negotiate with 14 private companies. We do not work for the government or the DfT [Department for Transport].”
I wish Mr. Shapps would get us out of this catch-22 situation that he misrepresents at every opportunity.
Updated at 12.21pm BST
Which rail services are affected and for how long?
Here’s a quick summary to bring you up to speed on the services affected by the industrial action.
Members of the Aslef union are on strike on Saturday, with 5,500 staff expected to walk. Drivers are on strike over pay, with Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan saying many members have not had a pay rise for three years.
The following services will be affected:
- London Overground – no service
- Great Anglia – very small
- Heathrow Express – no service
- Great Western Railway – greatly reduced
- Hull Trains – reduced timetable
- LNER – very reduced
- London Northwestern Railway – no service
- Southeast – no service
- West Midlands – very small
The strike will last 24 hours and customers should expect some rail disruption to continue until Sunday 31 July.
Updated at 12.19pm BST
Sam Tarry, the former shadow transport minister, said Labor clearly needed a “more comprehensive” economic policy offer for workers to see how the party could get them a decent pay rise.
Speaking on the Aslef picket line outside Paddington station, he said workers had “had enough” and people were “ready to fight back”.
He told the PA news agency: “For me to be here is to show that the Labor Party and a massive majority of Labor Party members and MPs support striking workers.”
He said he had spoken to a number of MPs across the country who supported the workers.
Tarry ruled out any possible Labor leadership bid and said he was “focused on being the MP for Ilford South” and “doing the best job” he could for the people of Ilford South.
Labor must support unions, says Tarry
Former shadow transport minister Sam Tarry has said he “absolutely” still believes Sir Keir Starmer is the best person to lead the country, but that Labor must show solidarity with striking workers.
The Labor MP for Ilford South told the PA news agency: “I think Keir Starmer is still the best person to become prime minister and I will campaign every day for a Labor government.”
But Tarry, who was sacked from the shadow cabinet this week after joining a picket line, said the Labor party needed a “fundamental recalibration” of its relationship with the trade union movement and needed to show that was by his side.
Speaking on the Aslef picket line outside Paddington station, he said: “We should never have been in a situation where we had an edict that you can’t join a picket line. This is the party Labour, the clue is in the name. We are the party founded by the unions.”
He added that the link between the trade union movement and the Labor party is “indivisible” and “part of the same fabric”.
Former shadow transport minister Sam Tarry (left) joins the picket line outside Paddington train station Picture: Maighna Nanu/PA
Updated at 11.21 BST
Richard Burgon is the latest Labor MP to make an appearance on the picket line.
More Labor MPs have shown support for Aslef members as Ian Lavery and Ian Mearns, MPs for Wansbeck and Gateshead respectively, join the picket line in Newcastle along with North Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll:
Updated at 10.49am BST
Sam Tarry joins the Aslef picket line at Paddington Station
Sam Tarry, the former shadow transport minister who was sacked from the front bench this week, has joined another picket line at London’s Paddington station.
Tarry and Transport for London Assembly leader Elly Baker joined Aslef members at the station as thousands of train drivers from seven companies walked out for 24 hours.
Tarry was sacked on Wednesday hours after joining strikers on an RMT picket line at Euston station.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, who previously banned banking leaders from joining picket lines, said he was sacked for carrying out a media round without warning.
Tarry wrote about his decision and sense of duty to join the picket line for the Guardian. You can read it here:
Updated at 10.16am BST