December rail strikes begin tomorrow with week of chaos as the party season kicks off - as Aslef workers vow to stage another six months of crippling walkouts in pay row

Train drivers have voted overwhelmingly to continue taking strike action for the next six months in their long-running dispute over pay, the Aslef union confirmed today.

Aslef (the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) backed more industrial action after being reballoted, well over a year since the dispute began.

The announcement comes ahead of expected disruption for passengers from today and over the next week because of the union's strikes and an overtime ban.

Members of Aslef at 16 train companies will refuse to work overtime from today until December 9 and will stage a series of strikes between tomorrow and December 8.

Operators said they will operate as many trains as possible but there will be wide regional variations, with some operators running no services at all on strike days.

Services that are running will start later and finish much earlier than usual - typically running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

It is likely that services on some lines will be affected on the evening before and morning after each strike between December 2 and 8 because much of the rolling stock will not be in the right depots.

Unions involved in disputes have to reballot their members every six months to ask if they want to continue taking industrial action.

Aslef members at 12 train operators in England were reballoted, each returning huge votes in favour on high turnouts.

Mick Whelan, Aslef's general secretary, said the union was 'in this for the long haul', adding: 'Our members, who have not had a pay rise for nearly five years now, are determined that the train companies, and the Tory Government that stands behind them, do the right thing.

'The cost of living has soared since the spring and summer of 2019, when these pay deals ran out. The bosses at the train companies, as well as Tory MPs and Government ministers, have had increases in pay.

'It's unrealistic and unfair to expect our members to work just as hard for what, in real terms, is considerably less.

'Train drivers are fed up and frustrated that their employers failed to negotiate in good faith, making a proposal through the Rail Delivery Group which they knew - because we had told them - would be turned down and then to blame drivers for the train companies' inability to manage services and the rail industry effectively.

'Aslef members, key workers who kept our country moving through the pandemic, are simply asking for a fair and decent deal.

'We haven't had a meeting with Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, since December 2022. We haven't had a meeting with Huw Merriman, the rail minister, since January, and we haven't heard from the employers, the private sector train operating companies for whom we work, since April.

'We have always said that we are prepared to come to the table but the Government and train companies need to understand that this dispute won't be resolved by trying to bully our members into accepting worse terms and conditions of employment.

'Looking at the resolve of our members as shown by all the branch meetings I have attended and these new ballot results - and the solidarity they have shown on the picket line since the first ballots went out in June 2022 - we are calling on the Government to let the companies come back to the table and make our members a sensible offer, with no strings attached, to reflect the increase in the cost of living.'

Mr Whelan said that Aslef members remained solidly behind the campaign of industrial action after not having had a pay rise for almost five years.

Aslef said the rolling programme of one-day strikes and overtime ban was designed to 'ratchet up the pressure' on the train operators (TOCs) and the Government.

'We are determined to win this dispute and get a significant pay rise for train drivers who have not had an increase since 2019 while the cost of living, in that time, has soared.

'Our strikes have forced TOCs to cancel services and the ban on overtime has seriously disrupted the network as none of the train companies employs enough drivers to provide a proper service - the service they have promised passengers and businesses they will deliver - without asking drivers to work their rest days.'

Aslef members will strike at East Midlands Railway and LNER on Saturday December 2; at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, Great Northern Thameslink, and West Midlands Trains on Sunday December 3; at C2C and Greater Anglia on Tuesday December 5; at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway and Island Line on Wednesday December 6; at CrossCountry and Great Western Railway on Thursday December 7 and at Northern and TransPennine on Friday December 8.

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group said: 'This unnecessary and avoidable industrial action called by the Aslef leadership has been targeted to disrupt customers and businesses ahead of the vital festive period, where people will be attending events and catching up with friends and loved ones.

'It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £175 million a month in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the Covid downturn.

'The Aslef leadership are blocking a fair and affordable offer made by industry in the spring which would take average driver base salaries for a four-day week from £60,000 to nearly £65,000. We urge them to put it to its members, give Christmas back to our customers, and end this damaging industrial dispute.'

It comes despite members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union voting this week to accept a deal to end their long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls has warned that the latest Aslef strikes could cost the industry up to £800million - and the industrial action has already cost hospitality businesses more than £3billion.