London Underground services, national rail, and links to both Gatwick and Heathrow airport will be halted or severely disrupted. According to the Rail Delivery Group, approximately 20 percent of normal services will be running.
The head of the train drivers’ union has distanced the group from The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) amid further strike action.
Mick Whelan, who represented Aslef’s 21,000 members, declared to “do our own thing” during pay negotiations with ministers.
Mr Whelan said that both he and his members are “not led by the RMT and Mick Lynch and we do our own thing” as they are set to hold talks with Transport Secretary Mark Harper on Monday.
Despite many hoping that the talks will see some agreement, Mr Whelan made it clear that he is doubtful any resolution will come soon.
Mr Whelan said: “We are months and months away from resolving anything. There is an awful lot of either deliberate misunderstanding of the process by the Government, or they’re just misleading the general public.”
The separation of the two unions comes as rail services see the worst day of strike action since the 1980s.
What has been called “Tragic Thursday” will see less than one in 10 trains running on January 5.
It has been suggested that Rishi Sunak is altering his tactics in dealing with the strike action by agreeing to a pay deal with Aslef in order to isolate the RMT.
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Mr Whelan argued that train drivers have had their salaries frozen over the last few years even though inflation has skyrocketed.
Despite Aslef’s strike action, the head of the union said: “We are no closer to a resolution now than we were back then when we started.
He stated that “it is inevitable that more strikes will be held and probably escalate”, as he accused the Government of “playing games”.
