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Planned strikes on one of the UK’s busiest long-distance rail routes due to start on Saturday have been called off after the Aslef train drivers’ union said it had reached agreement with the management of LNER.
The intended action had been an embarrassment to the new government as it sought to end a long period of disruption on the railways under the previous, Conservative government by offering new pay deals.
The strikes on LNER — which runs passenger services from London to Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and other cities in the east of the UK — were over what the union said was management’s breaking of agreements on working practices. LNER is one of four train operators managed directly by the Department for Transport.
Drivers had been due to strike on Saturdays and Sundays every weekend from August 31 until November 10. The central issue had been the amount of overtime drivers were being asked to undertake — a long-term issue at many train operators, where weekend working has often relied on voluntary overtime.
The union said on Thursday evening that unions and management had reached a resolution after talks.
“This strike action is suspended and drivers will report for duty as normal,” the union said.
LNER welcomed the cancellation of the planned action but said only that it would “strengthen” the slimmed-down timetable published for the coming weekend, rather than promising that trains would operate as normal.
It can be hard for train operators to change timetables at short notice when strikes are cancelled just before their anticipated start.
“After constructive talks with Aslef, we are pleased that strikes planned to commence from this Saturday 31 August have now been called off,” the operator said.
Kieran Mullan, Conservative shadow transport spokesperson, had pointed to Aslef’s decision to call the strikes on LNER as evidence that the new Labour government’s efforts to end industrial unrest on the railways were failing. The union called the strikes in August two days after Louise Haigh, the new transport secretary, reached a deal with the union to end its long-running dispute over pay.
Aslef on August 14 announced an agreement with the government to raise train drivers’ pay by 14 per cent over the three years ending 2024-25. While union members have not yet formally accepted the offer, the leadership has recommended acceptance in a ballot.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said the agreement with LNER demonstrated that negotiation could settle issues on the railways in a way that meant “better workplace practices for rail workers and a better service for the travelling public”.
