Fury as train drivers set to rake in £81k for 4-day week after Labour’s deal with Aslef union which funds it
TRAIN drivers’ average pay will steam past £80,000 according to the small print of Labour’s deal with their donors, Aslef.
Four-day-week drivers working for LNER will see a £10,000-a-year hike to £81,278.
Despite this, they have vowed months more strike misery — citing a “toxic” relationship with the East Coast mainline firm.
But Transport Secretary Louise Haigh insisted her sop to the unions “puts train customers first” as she urged fresh talks to stop weekend strikes through to mid-November.
Drivers have accused LNER management of bullying and breaking their word on working conditions.
But LNER drivers will be paid second only to Eurostar workers if they accept Labour’s “no-strings” backdated pay increases of 5 per cent for 2022-23, 4.75 percent for 2023-24, and 4.5 percent for 2024-25.
But ahead of the 22 days of planned chaos, Aslef union boss Nigel Roebuck says: “We’ve now got a toxic situation — we’ve got morale in the gutter among our members.”
Aslef handed the Labour Party a £100,000 donation during this summer’s general election campaign.
It also emerged yesterday Ms Haigh’s parliamentary aide Liam Conlon was given £4,000 by the drivers’ union to help his bid to become an MP.
Shadow Business Secretary Kevin Hollinrake told the Sunday Times: “The unions have been funding the Labour Party for a long time.
It’s payback.”