There has been a “major breakthrough” in the long-running pay dispute involving train drivers, which could signal the end of national rail strikes, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
It says that following a series of “positive” government-led talks, drivers’ union ASLEF has agreed to recommend a new pay proposal to its members.
“The offer made to ASLEF is a pay rise of 5% for 2022/23, 4.75% for 23/24 and 4.5% for 24/25,” a DfT spokesperson said.
“The offer will now be presented to ASLEF members in a referendum.”
During the two-year pay dispute, drivers went on strike for 18 days and refused to work non-contractual overtime, causing huge disruption to passengers.
ASLEF voted for the first time to industrial action in June 2022 and renewed its mandates for strike action and non-strike action every six months.
The first strike was held in July 2022, followed by regular strikes and continuous weeks of action until just before this year’s general elections.
The union said on Wednesday the dispute began because the “Conservative government and the privatized rail companies” refused to give train drivers the “pay rise they deserve”.
ASLEF added that drivers have not had a pay rise since 2019 and during that time the “cost of living has increased significantly”.
Mick Whelan, the union’s general secretary, described the pay offer as “fair and clean” before saying he was urging drivers to accept it.
He said: “We are pleased that, after being treated with total contempt over the last two years by the privatized railway companies and the previous government who messed with them, we finally have a new government – a Labor government – who listens and wants to do with that the railway works for employees, for passengers and for the taxpayer.”
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Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “When I took on this role, I said I wanted to act quickly and put things right – starting with ending rail strikes.
“Conservatives were happy to see the taxpayer pay the price as the strikes dragged on and passengers suffered. This Labor government is doing the right thing and putting passengers first.
“If accepted, this offer would finally put an end to this long-standing dispute and allow us to move forward, improving performance for passengers with the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation.”
But Conservative leadership candidate and shadow home secretary James Cleverly criticized the proposal as a “Labour government wage premium to combat inflation”.
And shadow transport secretary Helen Whately said on X that “a ‘no strings attached’ deal means this will be paid for by passengers and taxpayers”, as she accused Labor of caving in to the unions.
The DfT said new industry estimates suggest rail companies have lost around £850 million in passenger revenue since industrial action began in 2022.
Taking into account the additional impacts of strikes, including people being unable to work, or potential reductions in hospitality and retail spending, the total impact is likely to exceed £1 billion, the DfT added.
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