MINIMUM service laws will not be enforced by any train operator in this week’s drivers strike.
The decision not to insist on 40 per cent of services will enrage passengers.
Legislation was introduced in November but an Aslef union source told us none of the 16 train operators will use it when the drivers stage action on five days between Tuesday and Monday the following week.
Members are also banning overtime for nine days from tomorrow.
Greg Smith, of the Commons’ transport committee, suggested toughening the new law to “give hard-pressed rail users the protections they need”.
Jack Brereton, Tory MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, added: “It is a total disgrace that militant unions are trying to hold the country to ransom. This action is totally disproportionate and it is time to use the new powers.”
But, privately, senior Government figures admit there is nothing they can do.
LNER withdrew its plans to use the law once Aslef threatened five more days of strikes.
Operators also say not all staff can drive the same trains or routes.
And they risk more disruption and financial losses if insisting on minimum service.
A Government source said: “It is for operators to decide whether to use the new laws and so it is for them to explain their decisions to passengers.”
The Department for Transport added: “Aslef are now the only rail union continuing to strike while refusing to put a reasonable pay offer to its members — one that would take average driver salaries to nearly £65,000.”
Aslef leader Mick Whelan has previously said the law will not ease industrial strife and will “likely just make it worse”.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
