Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan and TSSA interim general secretary Frank Ward appearing before MPs on Wednesday morning
(Picture: PA)A union leader warned on Wednesday that the bitter strike on the railways is further away from being resolved than when it started last year.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of the Aslef train drivers’ union, was asked by the Transport Select Committee to say how close, on a scale of one to 10, the situation was to a resolution.
He replied: “I think you can include zero. We’re further away than when we started.”
Mr Whelan also criticised the way an offer was made by the Rail Delivery Group last Friday afternoon, saying it was leaked to sections of the media first and contained details which “smashed” agreements with the union.
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We haven’t got an agreement. Until we get an agreement we’re not close to it.”
He said nine clauses were added to an offer made last month, describing it as “sabotage” and blaming the Department of Transport.
Mr Lynch also made it clear that his union would never accept driver only operation (DOO) on the railways.
Mr Whelan said Aslef was also opposed to DOO.
It comes as London faces more rail strike chaos on Thursday with another walkout set to cripple the Elizabeth Line.
Line managers belonging to the TSSA union are walking out in a battle to win better rates of pay. Members of the RMT and Prospect unions who also work for the TfL subsidiary that runs the line will also take action.
It means Britain’s busiest line will be closed under central London.
TfL has said there would be no trains all day between Paddington and Abbey Wood – and only a limited service on the line’s western and eastern branches.
It will be the first time that the £20bn line, which has proved hugely popular since opening last May, will have been directly hit by strike action, though it has suffered knock-on impacts from separate strikes by the RMT at Network Rail.
In the west, the line will be limited to two trains per hour from Paddington to Reading, two per hour from Paddington to Maidenhead and two per hour from Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4. There will be no services to Terminal 5.
There will eight trains an hour in and out of Liverpool Street station, with three more an hour at peak times.
