Rail workers will hold two more strikes in September as disputes over pay and conditions rage.
Drivers who are part of the Aslef union from 12 different companies will participate in the first.
The second has been called by the TSSA union and will involve staff from nine rail companies, as well as National Rail.
It comes in the middle of a summer that has been characterized by the strike. Key services, from trains and buses to bin collections, have been disrupted as unions struggle to secure acceptable offers and pay conditions for their members as the cost of living crisis continues to increase.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming rail strikes.
When is the next rail strike?
Aslef’s strike will be all day Thursday, September 15.
The TSSA strike will begin at noon on Monday, September 26.
It will last 24 hours, that is, it will end at noon on Tuesday, September 27.
However, the strikes may affect rail services for several hours before and after they finish, so you should expect trains to continue to be disrupted earlier on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.
How will services be affected?
The Aslef action on September 15 will affect the following operators:
- Next West Coast
- Chiltern Railways
- Fields through
- Great Anglia
- Great Western Railway
- helmet trains
- LNER
- London Overground
- Northern trains
- South East
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
The workers are the following nine companies who will be taking part in the TSSA action, along with Network Rail staff:
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Trains
- Next West Coast
- c2c
- Fields through
- East Midlands Railway
- Great Western Railway
- LNER
- South East
The companies have not yet published their timetables, but expect services to be significantly disrupted, as has already been the case during previous actions.
More about Strikes
Why do workers strike?
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We are sorry that once again passengers are inconvenienced, as we do not want to go on strike – taking our jobs, whilst a fundamental human right, is always the ‘last resort for a union, but the train companies have forced our hand.
“They want train drivers to take a real pay cut, to work as hard this year as last year, but for 10% less.
“Because now inflation is in double figures and rising – much higher, according to some forecasts – and yet the train companies have not offered us anything.
“And this for the train drivers who kept Britain moving (key workers and goods across the country) throughout the pandemic and who haven’t had a pay rise since 2019.
“We want companies, which are making huge profits and paying their CEOs huge salaries and bonuses, to make an adequate wage offer to help our members keep up with the rising cost of living.
“That’s why today we’re asking companies to do the right thing, the decent thing, and come back to the negotiating table with an offer that our members can accept.”
TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes has written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps asking the Government to “allow the train operating companies to return to the negotiating table with a revised agreement that improves on the insulting 2 per cent offer which was rejected earlier this summer.”
He accused Shapps of preventing train companies from making a “revised and meaningful offer”.
“Frankly, you either sit at the negotiating table with our union or you walk away to allow rail bosses to negotiate freely with us, as they have done in the past,” Cortés said.
“The reason for the current impasse lies squarely at Shapps’ door and passengers are paying a high price for their incompetence and intransigence.
“I welcome the fact that negotiations are ongoing with Network Rail and the gap to a resolution is closing. Time will tell if a deal can be struck to avoid our next strike.”
The strike will coincide with the Labor Party conference in Liverpool. The TSSA said it hoped for support from those in attendance.
Workers have been divided over the strikes, with MPs defying orders from leader Sir Keir Starmer not to join the pickets.
Sir Keir sent an email to his shadow cabinet team, warning them they faced sacking if they took part in any protests outside the stations.
Cortes said: “I will be on our picket line in Liverpool and I will encourage fellow delegates and Labor MPs to do the same, so they can rightly show that they stand shoulder to shoulder with those fighting the cost of living crisis of the conservatives.”