Train drivers have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay, increasing the threat of more disruption to rail services this summer.
Members of the drivers union Aslef at eight train companies have backed industrial action.
Aslef members at Chiltern, LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express, Arriva Rail London, Great Western, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains voted by around 9-1 in favour of strikes on turnouts of more than 80%.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: “Strikes are always the last resort.
“We don’t want to inconvenience passengers – our friends and families use public transport, too – and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we’ve been forced into this position by the companies driven by the Government.
“Many of our members – who were the men and women who moved key workers and goods around the country during the pandemic – have not had a pay rise since 2019.
“With inflation running at north of 10% that means those drivers have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years.
“It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off for three years in a row.
“Especially as the train companies are doing very nicely, thank you, out of Britain’s railways, with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers.”
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) is also balloting its members at Network Rail and a number of train operators in England for industrial action.
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7 July: RMT criticises ‘politicians’ prattle’
The votes follow highly disruptive strikes by 40,000 RMT union workers across 13 operators and at Network Rail last month.
Meanwhile, Aslef members voted to accept an improved pay offer from ScotRail.
The union announced on Monday that its members had accepted proposals on pay and conditions from the newly nationalised rail operator.