Train drivers to vote on new deal to end strikes

Train drivers will vote on a new deal aimed at ending the long-running strike action, the Aslef union has announced.

Talks between representatives from Aslef and the Department for Transport are aiming to resolve the pay dispute between drivers and train companies in England.

Full details are yet to be confirmed but the pay offer is expected to be more generous than what was on the table last year, which included 4% rises for the next two years.

Aslef said the new deal was a "no-strings" offer, meaning it’s not conditional on changes to working practices.

Aslef union leader Mick Whelan said the proposed deal could end the long running train drivers’ dispute if members accept it in a vote.

The union represents drivers on lines including Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink and the Gatwick Express.

Mr Whelan insisted the new government had not rolled over and given into all his demands.

“If it was everything I wanted it wouldn't have been this deal it would have been a higher deal, more representative of the higher cost of inflation," he told the BBC.

A breakthrough would herald the end of industrial action which has spanned more than two years and saw drivers stage 18 strikes and take part in several overtime bans, leading to cancelled services.

Under the new Labour government, senior officials began direct pay talks with Aslef bosses last month.

The meeting with Aslef at the Department for Transport was "adjourned temporarily" on Wednesday morning, union general secretary Mick Whelan said as he left the building.

When asked by a reporter if there was a new offer, he said: "Not at this moment in time.”

Industrial action has continued since Aslef last rejected a pay offer back in April 2023. More recently the union’s tactic has been to spread walk-outs over several days, with different operators affected on each day.

The package included successive pay rises of 4%, which the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, said would bring the average annual pay for a driver to £65,000.

However, a significant point of contention, was the conditions attached.

Train companies and the Conservative government argued that changes to ways of working, for example to training and rosters, were necessary to make the railway function more reliably and save money.

They claimed hard-pressed taxpayers are having to contribute millions each week to keep services running.

However, Aslef argued drivers were being asked to sacrifice too much in exchange for too low a wage rise.

The dispute was at a standstill for a year, before signs of progress in May. But the general election was called before there could be a resolution.

Under the previous government, negotiations were conducted by the Rail Delivery Group, but ministers have had to approve any pay offer though, as the government in effect took control of the railway during the Covid pandemic.

When the Labour government was elected in July, transport secretary Louise Haigh said she was "committed to resetting industrial relations".

The Rail Delivery Group has since been removed from negotiations, with Department for Transport officials leading talks instead in July.

In a separate dispute, train drivers working for publicly-run Scotrail are currently being balloted for strike action over pay.