Train drivers threaten strike over ‘shocking and disgusting’ conditions as some go five-and-a-half hours without a toilet
Aslef, which represents more than 23,000 train drivers, has threatened industrial action over the lack of “care and wellbeing” for their members
Britain’s trade union for train drivers, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), has accused operators and those in power of seeking to “back pedal” on workers’ rights, as a union boss tells LBC working conditions are “shocking and disgusting”.
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Aslef, which represents more than 23,000 train drivers, has threatened industrial action over the lack of “care and wellbeing” for their members.
Speaking exclusively to LBC, General Secretary Dave Calfe, insisted “nothing’s off the table” when asked about the possibility of industrial action.
“We’re not going to keep kicking the can down the road, the can’s hit the wall now and someone needs to do something”
Calfe, who took over the Labour-affiliated union in January, claimed that some drivers “don't have access to toilets for 5 and a half hours”, warning of the “health implications” which can arise as a result.
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“The industry as a whole doesn’t seem to be doing the right thing and taking care of their staff, their health and wellbeing”, saying that “shocking and disgusting” conditions are present within the rail sector and drivers are “fed up”
The union launched its ‘Dignity for Drivers’ campaign in November 2024, calling for a maximum period of 4 hours without access to toilet facilities, drivers given autonomy to use loos based on personal need rather than management interference, as well as free sanitary products in the workplace.
Dave Calfe said the campaign was a “red line” for the union after being “shocked” at the driver feedback he was receiving at the union.
“Drivers taking towels to work, taking a change of clothes… receptacles that they use”.
“It’s well known on the railway for drinks bottles to be by the side of the railway and things like that. It's quite a shocking thing”.
Asked about the possibility of a strike if his demands are not met by 2027, the union boss said “nothing’s off the table when we’re talking about the health and wellbeing of our members”.
The union, which has been affiliated to the Labour Party since 1903, earlier this year secured a significant pay rise for members on Avanti West Coast services.
The operator runs the London-Manchester lie, and operates services to other big cities including Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool. Drivers will see a 3.6 per cent raise, 0.7 per cent above the rate of Consumer Prince Index (CPI) inflation at the time.
The Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed at the Labour Party conference that the service, which is one of the worst in the country for train delays and cancellations, will to be nationalised from March when the current contract ends.