ASLEF announce five days of strike action on LNER due to potential implementation of Minimum Service Law

[ainsworth74]

Please see this thread for the previous discussion on the most recent round of ASLEF strike action.

Earlier today ASLEF announced an escalation of their dispute with LNER with strike action running for the full week from Monday 5 February through to Friday 9 February on top of the previously announced strike on Friday 2 February:

Train drivers who are members of ASLEF Union will walk out on LNER for five days from Monday 5 until Friday 9 February.

The drivers will also refuse to work any non-contractual overtime from Wednesday 7 until Saturday 10 February.

The action is in furtherance of the union's long-running pay dispute with the operator.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, commented: "We have given LNER management - and their government counterparts who hold the purse strings - every opportunity to come to the table and they have so far made no realistic offer to our members.

"We have not heard from the Transport Secretary since December 2022, or from the train operating companies since April 2023. It's time for them to come to the table and work with us to resolve this dispute so we can all move forward and get our railway back on track."

https://aslef.org.uk/publications/aslef-new-dates-industrial-action-lner-announced

Subsequently in the Guardian it has now been revealed that this would seem to be a reaction to LNER seriously considering issuing Work Notices and using the new Minimum Service Level legislation that took effect late last year:

The train drivers’ union Aslef has called an extra five days of strikes at LNER in response to the threatened imposition of minimum service levels at the state-run London-Scotland service.

The controversial legislation, which was brought in by the government in late 2023, is likely to be trialled for the first time in the latest round of rail strikes.

Aslef had announced a week of rolling 24-hour strikes around England from late January, one day at each operator, in the long-running pay dispute.

However, amid signs that LNER, which is run by the Department for Transport’s own operator of last resort, would attempt to impose rules forcing drivers to work, Aslef has significantly escalated its planned action.

The rules attempt to impose about 40% of normal timetables on a strike day. Unions have said they remove the right to strike and are unworkable, and senior rail sources had expressed deep misgivings.

The industry has attempted to retain a united front in public and has not discussed plans for minimum service levels, while ministers have said the decision is down to train operators. However, it is understood that the government has privately told contracted firms that it expects them to use the new legislation to combat the strikes, though ministers do not want to be seen as publicly intervening in the dispute.

One government source said: “The train companies lobbied us for this ahead of the 2019 manifesto and they’ve got what they wanted so we would very much hope that they would use those powers. We aren’t going to grandstand and publicly urge them to do it but we quietly expect them to do so.”

However, most rail firms are understood to be extremely reluctant to impose the minimum service levels, which they had argued would worsen the situation, even before the escalation at LNER. A senior industry source said: “They’ve got a cat in hell’s chance of running it … Rather than passengers being told in advance that there is no service, they will be told there will be 40% – and the trains won’t show up.”

[...]

LNER train drivers to strike for five extra days in minimum service row

Aslef responds to threat to force 40% of normal timetable to be run on strike days

www.theguardian.com

On the basis that this is a significant escalation and a reason for that escalation has been now been revealed the Forum Staff are opening a new thread to allow discussion of the situation on LNER. We do not expect to see discussion of the wider dispute as it relates to other TOCs as there has been no change to the position there. Anyone who is interested in the wider dispute should review the previous thread linked at the top of this post. Anyone who wishes to exclusively criticise the Government without reference to the Minimum Service Level legislation and its perspective usage on LNER should do so in General Discussion.

We would also remind all members of the Forum Rules, particularly those around Respectful. This is a emotive topic but is no excuse for ignoring the Forum Rules. Finally, this thread may be locked again quite quickly depending on the nature of the discussion. My words from the end of the previous linked thread still stand and we have no interest in hosting a slanging match between opposite camps that will never persuade the other of the merits of their position.

With that "safety briefing" in mind , the floor is open for discussion...

 

[ThameslinkUser]

Are there any rumblings of similar 'trials' at other OLR TOCs?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Sounds like ASLEF are prepared to see it through until after the General Election.

 

[The Middle]

Could be over a week of disruption with Hitachi depot staff striking on the ECML from 27th January to 1st February.

 

[dk1]

Sounds like ASLEF are prepared to see it through until after the General Election.

Most certainly.

 

[EZJ]

I really don't know what this farce of a government thought was going to happen, did they really expect train drivers to roll over and have their tummys tickled?? You can expect this at every TOC they try it at.

 

[43066]

Interesting to see that The Times is leading with this. The government has therefore managed to bring the dispute back to the front and centre of public awareness by introducing these deeply authoritarian laws, which the industry knows only too well will be ineffective, will prolong disputes and will poison industrial relations to an even greater extent.

Yet another nail in the coffin of this government, really! Let’s hope the escalation precipitates the end of the dispute.

LNER only train operator to use minimum service law

Rail operators are ‘running scared’ of Aslef and only one operator, which is under government ownership, has told the union it will use the new powers

www.thetimes.co.uk

Just one rail operator currently plans to use new minimum-service laws to protect passengers during strikes due to start this month.Train drivers at 16 rail companies will stage a wave of one-day walkouts from January 30, the first since the new rules came into force. Under the law, rail companies can require striking staff to keep working to provide 40 per cent of timetabled services.However, rail operators are said to be “running scared” of using it, The Times understands. Just four of the 16 operators facing action have approached the Aslef union, which represents train drivers, to open discussions about using the law, which is optional.

But only one, London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which is under direct government ownership, has told the union they intend to use the powers.


Aslef responded this afternoon by announcing five further strike dates affecting the operator. The drivers will walk out from February 5-9 in addition to a 24-hour strike on February 2.

​

Ministers have insisted that the decision on whether to use the legislation falls to train companies. However, the forthcoming strikes, which run from January 30 to February 5, are considered a litmus test of its effectiveness.
It is understood that bosses at Southeastern, which is also under government control, approached Aslef about using the minimum service laws but have since gone cold.
C2c, which operates between London and Essex, made contact but has since opted not to use the law. Northern, which employs 1,500 drivers, has asked for a meeting with union bosses on Friday.
Sources said union bosses had been “left surprised” at how few operators had made contact about using the new law.

 

[manmikey]

I hope that ASLEF get the message across to the media loud and clear that the additional 5 dates of action is a direct response to LNER invoking MSL and let it be a warning to other TOCs too

 

[KM1991]

GTR also plan to run a shuttle service on ASLEF strike days. Nothing additional called…

 

[43066]

GTR also plan to run a shuttle service on ASLEF strike days. Nothing additional called…

That may well just be down to driver managers driving a few trains on ASLEF strike days, as usually happens on their network.

 

[1Q18]

GTR also plan to run a shuttle service on ASLEF strike days. Nothing additional called…

They may not be invoking the minimum service law, they may be confident that they can resource that service with strikebreaking drivers and qualified managers.

 

[KM1991]

That may well just be down to driver managers driving a few trains on ASLEF strike days, as usually happens on their network.

Would be the first time during the whole dispute that Thameslink have run trains on ASLEF strike days. Don’t think Southern have run anything either though

They may not be invoking the minimum service law, they may be confident that they can resource that service with strikebreaking drivers and qualified managers.

Possibly, but makes me wonder…

 

[Elecman]

Interesting to see that The Times is leading with this. The government has therefore managed to bring the dispute back to the front and centre of public awareness by introducing these deeply authoritarian laws, which the industry knows only too well will be ineffective, will prolong disputes and will poison industrial relations to an even greater extent.

Yet another nail in the coffin of this government, really! Let’s hope the escalation precipitates the end of the dispute.

LNER only train operator to use minimum service law

Rail operators are ‘running scared’ of Aslef and only one operator, which is under government ownership, has told the union it will use the new powers

www.thetimes.co.uk

Presumably the 4 TOCs concerned are the DOHL ones

 

[TreacleMiller]

It's worth pointing out that LNER drivers have an additional dispute beyond pay. There's overwhelming support for this action though, MSL was simply the final straw.

 

[Lemmy99uk]

Off the 4 DOHL TOCs, LNER is by far the simplest operationally with its limited routes and traction.

It might just be the perfect test bed for the new legislation.

 

[43066]

Would be the first time during the whole dispute that Thameslink have run trains on ASLEF strike days. Don’t think Southern have run anything either though

Apologies wires crossed there, in that case. I had thought Thameslink/GTR had run something during previous ASLEF strikes (Gatwick to London Bridge/Victoria shuttles rings a bell), but perhaps it was LNER I was thinking of.

 

[scrapy]

Presumably the 4 TOCs concerned are the DOHL ones

LNER
Southeastern
Northern
C2C

 

[Class 317]

Presumably LNER are planning to operate 30 - 35 services to be at 40% of a normal timetable. This should allow an hourly Newcastle / Edinburgh service and hourly Leeds service possibly with a couple of additional services at busy times. Will be interesting to see the service offered and the time it operates over.

It's interesting that DFT seem to be testing the water only with one operator rather than all. It will be interesting to see how the public react to a longer but less severe strike rather than a shorter strike.

I also think some people will see this as the unions throwing thier toys out of the pram which could back fire on them.

 

[CAF397]

LNER
Southeastern
Northern
C2C

TPE are also DOHL, but they have said they won't be running trains on Wednesday 31st January.

⚠️ASLEF has announced strike action between 30 January and 05 February.

On Wednesday 31 January, please do not attempt to travel on our services as we will not be running any services on our routes.

https://twitter.com/TPExpressTrains/status/1747680205731192949?t=Q7qneV6wm-BAZOU8Qz8fHw&s=19

Edited at Moderator request.

 

[Starmill]

David Horne has got a lot to answer for here. This is a shameful way to lead a business. Not as much as the Prime Minister of course, but unfortunately they're not really replaceable outside of an election.

 

[scrapy]

Should me noted that the governments own impact assessment on the bill stated that bringing in the bill would likely cause longer and more widespread action. They ignored this advice and brought the bill in anyway.

 

[class ep-09]

So if 40% of services requires 80% of drivers to be calked to work , over 5 days , most likely a driver will loose 1 day pay but company ( government ) will loose revenue from 60% of trains that do not run during that time .

I know it is a simplification but , we can see who probably looses the most .

 

[paulmch]

Well well, looks as if LNER's willingness to be complicit in taking away their employees' rights has led to a worse situation than if they'd just left them alone. In other shock news, the Pope has been revealed to be Catholic and bears are confirmed to prefer going to the toilet in wooded areas!

 

[Snow1964]

Is this a speculative thread about if LNER potentially implement MSL or have they actually decided to do it.

I am trying to understand if ASLEF have jumped the gun and are striking against a theoretical, but unconfirmed implementation

 

[Meerkat]

Interesting to see that The Times is leading with this. The government has therefore managed to bring the dispute back to the front and centre of public awareness by introducing these deeply authoritarian laws, which the industry knows only too well will be ineffective, will prolong disputes and will poison industrial relations to an even greater extent.

Yet another nail in the coffin of this government, really! Let’s hope the escalation precipitates the end of the dispute.

The unions are the funders of the Labour Party. Having strikes in the run up to an election might actually be what the Tories want.

 

[winks]

This legislation literally has months on the statute book before it’s binned. I don’t believe LNER have confirmed use of it (yet).

Better the RDG get off their backside and make an improved offer.

 

[AlastairFraser]

This legislation literally has months on the statute book before it’s binned. I don’t believe LNER have confirmed use of it (yet).

Better the RDG get off their backside and make an improved offer.

If only the RDG could make that decision...
It's more the hard of thinking at the DaFT, who need to release funding to enable a deal to be reached

 

[Moonshot]

Off the 4 DOHL TOCs, LNER is by far the simplest operationally with its limited routes and traction.

It might just be the perfect test bed for the new legislation.

We were discussing this earlier at my TOC, and were of the opinion that MSLs wont get implemented due to the sheer complexity of designing a one day timetable.

 

[HullRailMan]

Good to see this legislation has hit all the right nerves. Minimum service levels are standard fare in most of Europe so the UK is just catching up with our continental friends.

 

[SeanG]

Well that nearly scuppered our interrail plans!

Luckily DMed LNER on twitter and they confirmed it's very likely that an un-activated pass can still be used the day before intended travel/strike day.

So a swift Travelodge booking saves the day!
Bonus diversion via the Durham Coast too on the Sunday!