Train drivers accept pay deal to end strike action

Charlotte Edwards & Sean Dilley
Business reporter & Transport correspondent, BBC News

Train drivers have accepted a pay deal that will see the end of more than two years of strike action in England, Scotland and Wales.

Aslef union members accepted an offer which included a 5% backdated pay rise for 2022-23, a 4.75% rise for 23-24, and a 4.5% increase for 24-25.

The walk outs started due to a row over pay and working conditions. Union bosses sought better pay for drivers, but the previous Conservative government said changes to working practices were required in return.

Industrial action has caused widespread disruption on the railways since strikes began in July 2022.

The government and the union have refused to release an exact figure of what the average salary of a train driver will be following the pay rises. In 2023, the average wage was £60,055 per year, according to the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies.

Based on the pay increases announced, the BBC has calculated an average salary is estimated to be about £69,000 in 2024/25.

Aslef said that when compounded, the offer works out at 15%, is backdated, pensionable and includes drivers who retired or left the industry during the dispute.

The breakthrough heralds the end of industrial action which saw drivers stage 18 strikes and take part in several overtime bans, leading to cancelled services.

Some strikes caused an almost complete shutdown of railway lines in England and some cross-border services, including during major sporting and public events.

'No-strings deal'

Mick Whelan said the vote marked the end of the longest train drivers' strike in history.

"It was not a fight we sought, or wanted. All we sought after five years without a pay rise, working for private companies who, throughout that period, declared millions of pounds in profits and dividends to shareholders, was a dent in the cost of living," he said.

But Mr Whelan, told the BBC the biggest issue was not pay, but rather 55 proposed changes to working terms and conditions that ended up being dropped from the deal.

The union has called the agreement a "no-strings deal", adding it was safeguarding working practices was something "it was not willing to give away for nothing".

However, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said solving the row would also ensure a more reliable service but added the deal "crucially" cleared the way for "vital reform - including modernising outdated working practices - to ensure a better performing railway for everyone".

She said the end of the dispute was "an important step towards fixing our railways and getting the country moving again".

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

A major stumbling block which resulted in previous talks breaking down was due to proposed changes to working conditions.

'Nothing to prevent future strikes'

Aslef rejected previous deals, arguing drivers were being asked to sacrifice too much in exchange for too low a wage rise.

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

They said hard-pressed taxpayers were having to contribute millions each week to keep services running.

Conservative shadow transport secretary, Helen Whately, claimed the pay rise with "‘no strings attached’ for reforms" would "do nothing to prevent strikes in future".

Whately said the government had "failed to take responsibility" and took an "easier" decision to " say yes to the unions and have taxpayers pick up the bill".

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said it welcomed the news that the dispute had been resolved.

"The whole railway now needs to pull together and focus on delivering the best possible service for our customers," they added.

The union, which claims to represent more than 21,000 train drivers, said 96.6% of its membership who voted backed the new offer. The turnout was 88.5%.

Separately on Wednesday, The RMT union told the BBC it received new pay proposals from the government after pay talks, which included a 4.5% increase for Network Rail staff for 2024.

It added its members working for train operating companies had been offered pay deals of 4.75% for 2023/24, and 4.5% for 2024/25.

An RMT spokesperson confirmed the offers had been put to members to be voted on, and that it had recommended to accept them.