- The union announced a further five days of strikes against LNER from February 5
The train drivers’ union Aslef has called off next month’s five days of strikes, on top of a rolling programme of national walkouts, at LNER.
Members of Aslef are launching a series of strikes and an overtime ban from January 29 in the long-running dispute over pay.
The union announced a further five days of strikes against LNER from February 5 amid speculation that the company was considering implementing the controversial minimum service level regulations.
It is understood Aslef have now called off the five-day walkout, amid the upcoming strikes, after the train company withdrew its demand to implement the regulation.
A source from the union told the MailOnline: ‘The government’s MSL (minimum service level) programme is in disarray because not one of the train companies wants to impose it’.
The new law is aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service is available during strikes, set at 40 per cent in the railway industry.
Unions have warned the regulations are unworkable and potentially dangerous if passengers believe a certain number of trains will run.
None of the train companies affected by the new strikes have said they will implement the regulations.
Ministers have said the way in which the rules are implemented will be down to train operators, but it is understood that the government expects that the new legislation will be used to curb strike action.
One government source told the Guardian: ‘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, a senior source from LNER told the paper that the operator had a ‘cat in hell’s chance’ of implementing the rules, with the legislation potentially worsening the reliability of train service.
Unions in other sectors affected by the new law have also warned they are unwarranted and unworkable.
The strike was originally announced in response to the threat of minimum service levels being imposed at the state-run London-Scotland service.
On the planned 5-day walkout, which has now been called off, Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said: ‘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.’
An LNER spokesperson said: ‘We welcome news that the threat of extended disruption to our services has been lifted.
‘We encourage ASLEF to work with us to find a way to end this long running dispute which only damages the rail industry.’
The MailOnline has approached the Department for Transport for comment.
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