Train passengers are facing delays as train drivers from nine operating companies go on strike for 24 hours, halting services in many parts of England, Scotland, and Wales.
The strikes on Saturday affect nine train companies and come after the union claimed that the operators had failed to make a pay offer in line with the cost of living increase.
Thousands of Aslef union members are on strike in the latest round of industrial action in a deadlocked dispute over pay and “modernisation” of the railway.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan confirmed that talks would take place with employers but warned that rail companies were not permitted to offer pay increases of more than 2% without government approval.
“We find ourselves in the position of saying, ‘That won’t be enough.'” “They say, ‘It’s up to the government,’ and we talk to the government, and they say, ‘You have to talk to the employers,’ and then we end up in a situation where it goes round and round in circles,” he explained to Today.
It comes as Grant Shapps seeks to crack down on unions with new legislation in the next session of parliament, despite doubting the effectiveness of strike action.
