Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen on finding a resolution to industrial action on the railways.
The Government has no formal role in the negotiations but has facilitated meetings between trade unions and their employers in seeking to bring the disputes to an end. It has always been the role of employers to negotiate with unions, as the pay offers are put forward by the train operators. The Rail Delivery Group presented a fair and reasonable offer to ASLEF which it rejected without allowing its members to vote on their future. We continue to urge ASLEF to put the offer to their members in the train companies to give them a say on their future.