Opinion: Poor timing from ASLEF

The right-wing media had a field day over the new pay deal for drivers, and the announcement of yet more industrial action (or rather inaction) in the offing on LNER services. Specifically, there was a threat of 22 days of strike action at weekends.

In fact, much of the coverage failed to explain that this was a completely separate dispute, and that it’s at a local, rather than national, level.

It involves long-running complaints of LNER drivers about poor rostering practice by management and other complaints about local working conditions.

In my years of covering this industry, I have seen countless such threats fizzle out after a bit of head-banging between unions and management. I am convinced that with goodwill, this could be resolved before any walkouts.

However, the announcement by ASLEF will have ensured that any champagne corks in the office of the transport ministers over the expected ending of the strikes over pay will have quickly been put back in the bottles.

Indeed, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and her team must have been apoplectic.

ASLEF’s headquarters should have been aware of the proposed action and told the local union reps in no uncertain terms to go back to the negotiating table, rather than announcing a series of strikes on the very day that the end of the two-year dispute was in sight.

Surely, they should have recognised that the action would be deeply damaging for relations between the union and the Labour party.