Hull Trains drivers to strike for eight weeks as row over sacking escalates

Hull Trains drivers are to stage an eight-week strike in response to the operator sacking one of their colleagues.

ASLEF has announced that the walkout will take place between Monday March 31 and Saturday May 24 as part of an ongoing row between the union and open access operator.

The driver was fired after sharing information about their own workload and rostering during a company briefing about fatigue. ASLEF has argued the driver hasn’t done anything wrong, while Hull Trains management felt the information provided about the incident breached health and safety protocol. 

Announcing the new strike action, which replaces Friday and Saturday walkouts, ASLEF said the company had privately admitted making a mistake. Hull Trains denies this.

General Secretary, Mick Whelan, said: “The company’s failure to act responsibly has an impact – and enormous implications – not just for rail workers and passengers at the company but for staff and passengers right across the wider rail industry.

“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 they will be penalised, punished, or lose their livelihood. The company has behaved deplorably.”

ASLEF’S full-time organiser in the north east, and lead officer with Hull Trains, Nigel Roebuck, added: “In a forward-thinking industry like ours we believe that individuals should be able to speak freely about their concerns without fear or favour be it fatigue or mental health issues or anything else that affects their working lives.

“Our member has been driving trains for more than 20 years with a completely clean safety record. The company is punishing and penalising him for something he said, not for anything he has done. And what he said was perfectly polite, proper, and reasonable in the context of a safety meeting.”

Roebuck added that the situation was a “dangerous precedent for the entire industry that for years has tried to build a no blame culture and support individuals who wish to speak out”.

In response, a spokesperson for Hull Trains said: “We’re disappointed to receive notice of further strike action from ASLEF. Safety will always remain our number one priority. We are currently reviewing the impact of these latest proposed strike action dates and any changes to services will be communicated in due course.”

The company has previously said the action it had taken was in line with upholding safety standards.