People hold placards as they attend a RMT union train strike outside King's Cross railway station in London, June 25, 2022. MATT DUNHAM AP Britain's summer of strikes could be even bigger and harder hitting as train drivers warned that a ballot on possible industrial action over a pay dispute could be coordinated across the whole rail network for maximum impact, according to MATT DUNHAM AP.
Three days of nationwide industrial action have already been staged by members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, known as the RMT, with threats of more to come. It's now a train driver who is a member of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, or ASLEF, who are contemplating action of their own.
The union has more than 21,000 members who have cast their votes on the issue, with a result expected next Monday. ASLEF spokesman Keith Richmond said that coordinated action would be the obvious move if they opt for industrial action for the first time since 1995.
It is going to be more disruptive than it was in the past. We do not go on strike very often, ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan told the Financial Times.
A third rail union, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, or TSSA, representing station staff members, is considering action, though Whelan denied that the three groups would take action at the same time.
Individual ballots are held on Britain's railway network, which is divided into several different train operating companies. Staff at one company, Avanti West Coast, have already voted in favor of action, and TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said this was only the beginning of warning the government to take note of We believe strikes will have a massive effect, along with savings from productivity changes such as alterations to shift patterns, despite already high inflation being on course to hit 11 percent by October. There will be a summer of disruption. Transport State Secretary Grant Shapps has shown little inclination for the government to get involved in the RMT dispute, insisting that the issue is between the union and the train operating companies, so it would seem unlikely to be more open to intervening in other potential arguments.
We want rail unions to engage fully with their employers. ASLEF wants to cause more misery for passengers by joining others in disrupting the rail network, according to a representative for the government.
The British government wants to see savings made after all the financial support that the rail industry received during the Pandemic, when passenger numbers and income collapsed.