Mick Whelan – 2022 Letter to Grant Shapps on Rail Strikes
The letter sent by Mick Whelan, the General Secretary of ASLEF, to Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 10 August 2022.
Dear Secretary of State,
Public comments regarding ASLEF members at Avanti West Coast
I’m writing in regard to comments that you have made about Avanti West Coast’s failure to run its promised timetable. The company has blamed its failure on a lack of staff caused by “unofficial strike action by ASLEF members.” You have gone on to repeat this claim and blame “unofficial strikes” for the disruption.
It’s of great interest to us that you go on to mention that “archaic rules from 1919 mean working on rest days is voluntary,” and “outdated rules mean the rail industry relies on goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime to ensure services run 7days a week.”
I must confess, that your comments have caused a great deal of confusion, which I do hope you might be able to allay. Firstly, why are you repeating an unfounded lie that ASLEF has organised unofficial strike action? There are only two explanations. One, that you have been duped by the company who are covering themselves for gross mismanagement, or alternatively that you are knowingly repeating a lie.
Secondly, we’d love to know what these archaic rules from 1919 are, because collectively, we are flummoxed.
Thirdly, we believe that for train drivers to safely transport thousands of people, they must have rest days in which they are allowed to rest. The clue is in the name. Do you believe that train drivers should be forced to work on allotted rest days?
Lastly, I am pleased to inform you that we do agree with one of the points you make in your otherwise confused comments. That is that it’s absurd that “the rail industry relies on goodwill of drivers volunteering to work overtime to ensure services run 7days a week.” That is why it has been ASLEF policy for decades to bring Sundays into the working week. It’s something our negotiators try to achieve, and have achieved, in many companies. I regret to inform you that it’s not ASLEF or 103 year old rules preventing this from happening. It’s the companies you have handed contracts to over the last couple of years. They’ve made the calculation that operating a railway on overtime, is cheaper than employing enough train drivers to run timetabled services, even if that means services are unreliable. I’m starting to have concerns that perhaps these companies are prioritising profit over quality of service.
It shouldn’t be surprising that we have policy in favour of Sunday in the working week. You see, this would mean more high quality green jobs, and as the train drivers’ union, we think that’s a very good idea.
It is pretty clear that Avanti West Coast has had to cancel huge amounts of trains and is providing an abysmal service due to complete mismanagement, including not employing enough drivers, yet has decided to blame the insufficient number of drivers it does employ. The same drivers you thanked profusely in letters to me, and in public, during the pandemic. It is nothing short of a disgrace that a secretary of state for transport should parrot these lies.
These unfounded comments risk the welfare of our members and increase the risk of abuse. I therefore ask that you publicly correct your previous statements and check that any statements you make about our members in the future are, in fact, true.
Yours sincerely,
MICK WHELAN
General Secretary
