LNER drivers set to strike, while RMT rejects pay offer
Drivers belonging to ASLEF are set to strike for 24 hours tomorrow, reducing East Coast intercity services by an estimated 75 per cent. No LNER trains will be running north of Edinburgh. The union is also staging a ban on overtime and rest day working from today until Sunday. The walkout is unconnected with ASLEF’s pay dispute with English operators, and has been caused by what the union described as the ‘company’s persistent failure to comply with existing agreements’. Meanwhile, the RMT has rejected a pay offer for its Network Rail members.
Attention turns to Hitachi in train-building rescue plansThe future of the Alstom plant at Litchurch Lane in Derby is looking more secure, after ‘intensive discussions’ between Alstom Group and the government, but there is still serious concern over the future of the Hitachi plant at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, which was built a decade ago to supply the new Intercity Express fleets.
New hope for Alstom Derby, while RMT calls for summitThe Alstom works in Derby is in line for an order of up to 90 cars for the Elizabeth Line, according to reports. Such an order for more Aventra vehicles would not be a new contract, because an option for enlarging the TfL fleet already exists. Meanwhile, the RMT is calling for an urgent summit to discuss the threat to the Derby works, where closure would mean the loss of thousands of jobs.
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