Aslef train drivers vote to accept pay deal ending two-year dispute with 16 companies

This vote ends the longest dispute in recent history on Britain’s railways during which 13,000 drivers took 18 days of strike action as well as refusing to work non-contractual overtime.

Aslef said its members voted by 96% in favour of a deal the union said was worth 15% over three years. The turnout was 84%.

Industrial action has caused severe disruption on the railways since strikes began in 2022.

The offer was made by the new Labour Government within weeks of the party winning the general election.

Aslef had accused the previous Conservative government of "sitting on its hands" and refusing to negotiate.

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Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: ‘It is with great pleasure that we can announce the end of the longest train drivers’ strike in history. The strength and resilience and determination shown by train drivers to protect their hard-won and paid-for terms & conditions against the political piracy of an inept and destructive Tory government has prevailed.

 ‘It was not a fight we sought, or wanted. All we sought was – after five years without a pay rise, working for private companies who, throughout that period, declared millions of pounds in profits and dividends to shareholders – was a dent in the cost of living.

 ‘We are grateful that Louise Haigh, the Secretary of State for Transport, and the adults entered the room and sought an equitable way forward so that trains will perform and run in the interest of the passenger, of the taxpayer, and of those who work in and are dedicated to this industry.’

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said it welcomed the news that the dispute had been resolved.

"The whole railway now needs to pull together and focus on delivering the best possible service for our customers," they added.

The 16 train companies involved were Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, C2C, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Great Northern Thameslink, Great Western Railway, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway and Island Line, TransPennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.