A one-day strike next month is set to be staged by thousands of train drivers, their trade union announced on Friday (18). This action, which is part of a pay dispute spanning over a year, will have repercussions for passengers across the country during the bustling summer season.
Workers in various sectors across Britain have taken industrial action over the last year as wage rises fail to keep pace with high levels of inflation amid a cost-of-living crisis.
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) union said 13,000 drivers at 16 train companies, including FirstGroup-owned Avanti West Coast FGP.L, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), and West Midlands Trains, would walk out on September 1 and ban overtime the following day.
"We don’t want to take this action but the train companies, and the government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place because they refuse to sit down and talk to us," ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said in the statement.
The workers have staged 11 days of strikes so far in the dispute which began last June.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train operators, said the union's leadership has been refusing to put its "fair and reasonable offer" to the workers. It says the offer would increase the average driver base salary for a 4-day week without overtime to nearly 65,000 pounds ($82,609) from 60,000 pounds.
The last offer of an 8% pay rise over two years was rejected by ASLEF in April this year, with the union - which says most drivers have not had a pay rise in four years - having called it "risible" at the time.
"We urge the ASLEF leadership to acknowledge the substantial financial challenges facing the rail industry and work with us," the RDG said.
Separately, around 20,000 railway staff who are part of the RMT trade union are due to strike on August 26 and September 2.
(Reuters)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.