Buried in yesterday’s drama over Priti Patel was the news that train drivers represented by Aslef have voted to end their industrial action on Southern Rail by accepting a pay deal which will give them a 28.5 per cent rise over five years. It will take their basic pay – for a four day week – to £63,000. With overtime, some could find themselves dragged into Jeremy Corbyn’s supertax bracket, aimed at those earning more than £80,000. It won’t even mean the end of the misery on Southern Rail, because the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), which has also been striking, has not accepted a deal.
Wasn’t this sort of thing – unions holding railways to ransom for outrageous pay demands – supposed to be ended by privatisation? Instead, the strikes have continued and the pay rises become ever more outrageous. And still the cost falls on the taxpayer – even more, in fact.
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