Train drivers strike again over colleague’s sacking

Train drivers went on strike again on Sunday in a long-running dispute over the sacking of a colleague.

Members of Aslef on Hull Trains have been taking industrial action since March, claiming their colleague was unfairly dismissed for raising a safety issue, which the company denies.

Previous strikes led to services being cancelled or disrupted.

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “The company seems to think that we’re going to give up and go away, but it is wrong.

“It sacked a driver, over what it claimed was a safety issue, who has a clean safety record.

“The driver did nothing wrong.

“The company has behaved not just badly but vindictively, in persecuting a driver for doing nothing more than raising a safety concern.

“The company appears to think this is just ‘a little local difficulty’. It isn’t.

“There is a very important principle here that involves everyone in the railway industry.

“The company’s failure to act responsibly has enormous implications not just for rail workers and passengers at Hull Trains but for staff and passengers right across the wider rail network.

“This is a moral issue because we have a culture on the railway designed to keep everyone safe.

“Anyone who works on the railway should be able to report a safety concern without fearing that they will be penalised, punished, or lose their livelihood.

“The company has behaved deplorably.”

Published: 01/06/2025 by Radio NewsHub