Arriva Trains Wales drivers to strike
Friday 12th November 2010, 2:00PM GMT.
Drivers working for Arriva Trains Wales are to stage a series of strikes later this month in a row over pay, it was announced today.
Aslef said its 470 members would walk out on November 19, 26 and 27, with other dates for action to be announced later.
The Rail Maritime and Transport union announced it would ballot its driver members at the company for strikes.
Arriva Trains Wales operates Shrewsbury and Gobowen stations and runs services on the Shrewsbury to Chester line and in south Shropshire. Aslef said its members voted by more than 9-1 to go on strike in a “remarkably high” turnout of 80 per cent.
General secretary Keith Norman said he had written to the company to say its failure to provide a satisfactory pay offer was not acceptable to Aslef.
“This is a clear-cut dispute about the company’s pay offer. Our members in ATW have seen their salaries fall behind train drivers in the rest of the industry. They will not be penalised for working in Wales.”
Most Commented
- Clampdown on Shrewsbury chuggers
- Bishop's gay marriage views do nothing to support bible teachings
- Letter: Alcohol price plans annoy me
- Planners ordered to stay on Newport visit bus
- Letter: Angered by close encounter of the furred kind
- Letter: No sense in overseas job adverts
- The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff doesn't raise a smile
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Oh, God. Here we go again. Bsck to the Future with the Unions. Hello, 1970s…
Report abuse
This TOC made £165 million profit last year, they don’t they share that success with any of their employees, the drivers and guards no matter how rude or miserable you may think they are help make this TOC one of the best performing companies within the UK,staff wages increase throughout the industry and the GAP in pay and conditions between English,Scottish which then includes welsh staff gets further and further away… but as a Director told Arriva staff recently, (because they operate in Wales then the pay reflects the area that they work in!) sounds a little racist against people who work out of Wales don’t you think? Fuel and house prices in wales are somewhat more expencive than areas in England….
Report abuse
Matt,are you not aware that the Arriva company receive a subsidy from the National Assembly for Wales funded by the taxpayer and they together with the other train operating companies make millions from their operation. They give a very poor excuse by stating that their labour cost reflects the area they work in, do they think that the people of Wales are exempt from tax and the cost of living ?
Report abuse
Agreed.
As Ivor and Stewart say, Arriva’s excuses here are nonsense.
Report abuse
This is a company that made £165 million profit last year, why don’t they share some of that success with their employees?
Report abuse
Or with the customers and improve their services!
Report abuse
so the fact that arriva’s staff are rude and do nothing on trains or stations justifies they’re wages going up why?
Report abuse
Jamie not all staff are rude and lazy, would you like to be tarred with the brush of your worst colleague? No I didn’t think so. Not sure how you can say a driver does nothing on trains or stations – er it is a train driver we are talking about!
Report abuse
I have to say that I have found Arriva on-train staff generally to be friendly, helpful and efficient. Obviously the driver’s job isn’t so customer-facing, but I have no doubt at all that it’s vital, given passengers to a large extent are placing their trust in him.
That said, train drivers aren’t doing so badly in the current climate. And as passengers will be paying for any rise, I don’t think they’ll be getting the public support that they generally do.
As for that statement from the union: “They will not be penalised for working in Wales”, what utter tosh. No one is *forcing* them to work in Wales – go and find a job somewhere else then. Time for a lot of people to get real.
Report abuse
So people who live and work in wales should have to move, just to earn more money?
What a very narrow minded statement that is.
Mainline train drivers in Wales get paid considerably less than elsewhere in the UK for doing exactly the same job and in some cases have to do more and know more.
Its about time people gave these guys a break.
Ultimately they are responsible for the lives of 300+ passengers a time, which is in the territory of pilots/ships captains, far greater than the ‘bus driver’ image some people give them credit for.
Why not look at the training they have to go through, and regular assesments etc, they undertake before slating them.
They work appauling shifts, in all weather and are the first line in dealing with all kinds of situations mechanical and otherwise.
I can’t see any problem with them asking for a fair pay deal, which i can assure you has nothing to do with passenger fare increases (they happen regardless).
I don’t think the ‘current climate’ has any say in what happens here. You have got the same company paying one lot of drivers nearly an average office workers salary difference than their Welsh counterparts here(this information is readily available on the internet in you look)
I for one are glad about their professionalism, especially every day one gets me to work safely.
Report abuse
I certainly accept some of your points, SoFly.
As far as I’m aware, some Arriva train staff aren’t ‘based’ in Wales but in England (eg Train depots at Shrewsbury, Crewe and/ or Chester etc). I wasn’t really suggesting people should move OUT of Wales.
Report abuse
Turns out they’re paid some 20% less than the average drivers in the UK. It would seem that Arriva had better stick their hand in their (deep) pockets unless they want their decent staff to leave. Cause then they’d have to spend even more money training up new drivers.
Report abuse
just to clarify any pay rise for arriva employees will be funded by the german government and not the ticket buyers as arriva are now owned solely by the german tax payer.
either way i have never had bad dealings with any members of arriva staff, and i have encountered them many times in stressful situations. however i have never dealy with any drivers that i am aware of, but who doesnt want that little bit extra, especially when you consider the previous comment regarding arrivas profits
Report abuse
Any pay rise will be funded by the German Government?!!!!!
I very much doubt that. It is still a business at the end of the day.
Any pay rise WILL inevitably ultimately be paid for through fare increases. Mind you, I’d far rather the staff have a pay rise than all their big bosses…
Report abuse
since august 27th mate arriva trains wales have been owned 100% by the germans. the germans pay the wages, the company along with several other uk rail companies are owned by deutschbahn, the german equivelant of what was british rail, and it is them who have to foot the bill.
however yes i too would rather see the foot soldiers reap the rewards and not the bosses in their ivory towers, not only with regards to this but in most aspects of modern society
Report abuse
Yes, I’m aware of the background and who owns Arriva, but it doesn’t mean that the German Government “pays” the wages.
And if you don’t believe me, write to Arriva and ask.
Mind you, I hope you’d get a straighter answer than you do if you make a complaint about them.
Incidentally, if the Arriva train drivers get a payrise, I hope their bus drivers do as well, since they do an equally important job. But I won’t hold my breath.
Report abuse
have any of you noticed that all the strick dates are dates of rugby internationals in cardiff ???
Report abuse
best time to get the point across dont you think? why do it when it will have no consequence to the company, that sort of defeats the object of a strike
Report abuse
I hope their strike succeeds, and is an example to other working people who are being screwed over by the rich parasites who govern this country.
Report abuse
Funny matter this. When I accepted my job I knew my salary, benefits & prospects before I started. I can only assume that these drivers started their jobs and were then told their wages, otherwise blackmailing the company for more would be very selfish. If you don’t like the working conditions YOU agreed to, then just leave!
I’m getting sick of every day turning on the news to find that another union is moaning on just because a company is trying to balance the books & keep the company afloat. Unions are always happy to negotiate – just as long as they get their own way!
Report abuse
So these employees are ‘blackmailing the company’?
Let us turn our attention to the architects of our current problems, the bankers.
The government wring their hands and tell us that they daren’t ask for more of our money back via a levy, in case these bankers move their business abroad.
Isn’t that blackmail of each and every one of us? And given the £7.5bn the banks intend to pay in bonuses this year, isn’t it on a much grander scale than anything ordinary trade union members might ask?
Report abuse
What’s your point? Just because the country is in a mess that gives the drivers more of a right to strike? I’ll say it again, these people took the job knowing the conditions & knowing the pay – if they don’t like it then get another job! They are damaging the company & disrupting customers just to serve their own ends. Unions have to cause this kind of chaos just to justify their own existence. Us folks not part of a union have to trust that individual performance & commitment gets rewarded rather than throwing our dummies out of the pram & trying to back our employers into a corner!
Report abuse
ah monkey when we all took our jobs we know salary and benefits etc but these benefits have slowly but surely diminished in comparison with other tocs whilst the book balancing and shareholders bonus continue to soar nobody is trying to blackmail the company only to seek a parity in line with other tocs is that to much to ask
Report abuse
Bizarre,
some of the posters here castigating a private company, are the same that talk of the “useless public sector”
So if neither the public sector or the private can run a railway, who should?
Report abuse
Good point Rupert – although I understand the Germans used to have something of a reputation for making the trains run on time – it was just the destination of some of them that was rather worrying…..
Report abuse