Following a series of positive talks led by the government, ASLEF
has today (14 August 2024) agreed to recommend a new pay proposal
to its members.
The offer made to ASLEF is a 5% pay rise for 2022/23, 4.75% for
23/24, and 4.5% for 24/25. The offer will now be put to ASLEF
members in a referendum.
This marks a significant step towards resetting industrial
relations and resolving the long-running rail dispute, which has
seen services disrupted for over 2 years now. As the pay proposal
includes an offer for the year ahead, it also means there is no
national rail dispute on the horizon.
The Secretary of State for Transport, , says the breakthrough shows
how this government is “putting passengers first”.
If agreed by ASLEF members, the pay proposal could see an end to
2 years of industrial action, protect passengers from further
national strikes and improve the reliability of services, which
train passengers have been missing for far too long.
Poor industrial relations have caused disruption and delay for
working people, prevented families from visiting loved ones and
stopped the public from attending events, damaging the
hospitality sector.
New industry estimates revealed today show that railway revenue
foregone because of strikes since June 2022 has totalled around
£850 million – a debilitating amount for the industry
and a huge burden that falls directly on the taxpayer. Accounting
for additional impacts of strikes, including those due to people
being unable to work, or due to potential reductions in spending
on hospitality and retail, the total impact likely exceeds £1
billion.
This government changed the tone and got unions back around the
table to resolve rail disputes. In recent weeks, the Transport
Secretary has instructed senior officials to conduct intensive
talks with unions in order to resolve disputes in the interests
of the travelling public, which has led to this significant
breakthrough.
Transport Secretary, , said:
When I took this job, I said I wanted to move fast and fix things
– starting by bringing an end to rail strikes. Finally today the
end is in sight.
If accepted, this offer would finally bring an end to this
long-running dispute and allow us to move forward by driving
up performance for passengers with the biggest overhaul to our
railways in a generation.
Transport disruption has a huge impact on the wider economy, with
sectors like hospitality and tourism among the worst affected. In
the financial year of 2022 to 2023 alone, strike
action was estimated to cost over £500 million of economic output
due to people not being able to work.
