Labour’s deal with train drivers was the first step in the government’s plan to fix Britain’s broken railways, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said today.
And she urged union leaders and employers to “get around the table” after more industrial action was announced over LNER services.
She said resetting industrial relations had been a “priority” – and slammed her Tory predecessors for “grandstanding and refusing to negotiate.”
The deal put forward this week, if agreed by members of the ASLEF union, looks set to bring to an end the long-running pay dispute between the government and train drivers.
Ms Haigh said the two years of national strikes had lost the wider economy more than £1 billion – dramatically more than the cost of the new pay deal.
She wrote: “None of this was inevitable. It was down to the political choices made by the Conservatives.
“Instead of constructive talks, they grandstanded and refused to negotiate. Instead of compromise, they provoked – dragging national disputes longer than needed. Instead of the public interest, they chose self-interest.
“It was a shocking dereliction of duty that left passengers and taxpayers to pay the price.
“We will never choose that path. We will always put passengers and taxpayers first and politics second.”
On Friday the union announced further strike action by its members over a local dispute with one train operator – LNER – about working practices, not pay.
“I’ve made my frustrations clear to both parties and my message is simple,” Ms Haigh wrote.
“Follow this Government’s lead – urgently get around the table, negotiate in good faith and stop this action before it starts.”
The Department for Transport (DfT) estimates the lost revenue due to the strikes since June 2022 has totalled around £850 million, describing it as a “debilitating” amount for the industry and a huge burden on the taxpayer.
Accounting for additional impacts of strikes, including those because of people being unable to work, or potential reductions in spending on hospitality and retail, the total impact likely exceeds £1 billion.
In the financial year of 2022/23 alone, strike action was estimated to cost more than £500 million of economic output thanks to people not being able to work, the DfT said.
Train drivers working for LNER – which runs the passenger service on the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh – will walk out on weekends from the end of August in a dispute about working agreements.
Ms Haigh said the forthcoming launch of Great British Railways – a government-owned company overseeing train transport across the country – would be “the biggest shake-up of our railways in a generation.”
She wrote: “We cannot afford to continue the cynical approach of the Conservatives, which treated rail workers as a political football and led to the longest ever national strike because they had no plan to fix our railways,
“That simply drained public trust – something this government is now urgently trying to fix.”
She added: “I want a railway we can all be proud of. One that drives economic growth, that attracts investment and creates jobs, and that works for passengers, wherever they live.
“That’s my mission – and I’m wasting no time.”
‘I’ve made my frustrations clear to both parties – they should follow our lead and stop strikes before they start’
By LOUISE HAIGH, Transport Secretary
(
Anadolu via Getty Images)
When I told Mirror readers I would move fast and fix things, I meant it.
The country has suffered from more than two years of damaging national rail strikes – the longest in our history.
This has had consequences – family unable to visit each other, holidays made difficult or impossible, opportunities curtailed and economic growth held back.
That’s why resetting industrial relations and resolving this dispute was a priority for me and I’m pleased that I could agree a deal to bring an end to these national strikes.
As a responsible government you have to consider all. The deal is a fair one for taxpayers, passengers and workers – it comes in at under-inflation and is set over three years.
Make no mistake: this is positive news. It ends a national dispute involving 16 train operators, that has caused chaos on our railways, damaged our economy, and failed millions of passengers.
Yet some claim it would have been better to refuse to budge and let these strikes continue. They continue to ignore the cost of prolonged national strikes.
The cost of settling this dispute is significantly lower than the cost of it dragging on.
Two long years of these national rail strikes has seen the taxpayer directly lose £850m and cost the wider economy north of £1bn.
None of this was inevitable. It was down to the political choices made by the Conservatives.
Instead of constructive talks, they grandstanded and refused to negotiate. Instead of compromise, they provoked – dragging national disputes longer than needed. Instead of the public interest, they chose self-interest.
It was a shocking dereliction of duty that left passengers and taxpayers to pay the price.
We will never choose that path. We will always put passengers and taxpayers first and politics second.
But this is just one step on a longer journey to fix our broken, and fragmented railways.
We were reminded of that when on Friday ASLEF announced its members would strike over a local dispute with one train operator LNER – this time not about pay, but working practices.
I’ve made my frustrations clear to both parties and my message is simple. Follow this Government’s lead – urgently get around the table, negotiate in good faith and stop this action before it starts.
But this local dispute proves how fragmented and broken our railways are – 14 different employers, all with different terms, conditions and pay. Until we reform our railways, we, the public, don’t have the power to get them back on track.
We cannot afford to continue the cynical approach of the Conservatives, which treated rail workers as a political football and led to the longest ever national strike because they had no plan to fix our railways,
That simply drained public trust – something this government is now urgently trying to fix.
That hard work has already begun. This Government promised the biggest shake up of our railways in a generation, and that’s what we’re doing.
I’ve already taken operators CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast to task on unacceptable levels of performance. And we have already started the process to bring the railways into public ownership – ending 30 years of failure under privatisation.
We’ll reform management and working practices across the rail industry – root and branch – so it puts passengers first and delivers more reliable and smoother journeys.
I want a railway we can all be proud of. One that drives economic growth, that attracts investment and creates jobs, and that works for passengers, wherever they live.
That’s my mission – and I’m wasting no time.