Rail strikers wreck fun for thousands TODAY: Man Utd and Man City fans heading to FA Cup final at Wembley, Epsom race-goers and Beyoncé fans face train hell on day two of walkouts
- Aslef members are staging a walkout for the second day this week
Train services will be crippled again today as rail workers go on strike for the second day in a row this week, causing fresh travel misery for passengers.
Members of the train drivers’ union Aslef are staging a walkout over a long-running dispute with the government over pay and working conditions.
The industrial action coincides with the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley and the Epsom Derby as well as a Beyoncé concert at Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
The strike follows a walkout by train drivers on Wednesday and by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Friday in long-running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Around 90,000 supporters are expected to watch the FA Cup final, which kicks off at 3pm so not to clash with the Epsom Derby taking place at 4:30pm at the Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey.
Train services will be crippled again today as rail workers go on strike for the second day in a row this week, causing fresh travel misery for passengers
Members of the train drivers’ union Aslef are staging a walkout over a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions
The industrial action coincides with the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley (pictured)
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan told the PA there is ‘no waning in enthusiasm’ from train drivers to continue taking industrial action.
‘We are determined to get a resolution and remain in this for the long haul.
‘It is time for the Government to step back from interference which is preventing a deal – drivers, in line with other workers, deserve a pay rise after four years without one and inflation running, over the last 12 months, north of 10%,’ he said.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said around 40% of trains will run on Saturday but there will be wide regional variations with some areas having no services.
Mr Whelan said the ‘dead hand’ of the Government is preventing a deal to end the dispute.
He described an offer of a 4% pay rise for last year and another 4% this year as ‘dismal’, adding that there has been no contact between the union and the employers or the Government for weeks.
Picket lines will be mounted outside train stations across the country on Saturday, with drivers at 15 companies in England going on strike.
The train operating companies involved in the dispute are Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway; Great Western Railway; Greater Anglia; GTR Great Northern; Thameslink; London North Eastern Railway; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Southern/Gatwick Express; South Western Railway; SWR depot drivers; SWR Island Line; TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
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