Mick Whelan, general secretary of the union, said: “Strikes are always the last resort. We don’t want to hinder passengers, our friends and families also use public transport and we don’t want to lose money by going on strike but we are in forced into this position by the companies, who say they were driven to this by the Tory government.
“Many of our members, the men and women who transported key workers and goods across the country during the pandemic, have not had a pay rise since 2019.
“With inflation north of 10%, that means those drivers have had a real pay cut over the past three years.”
He added: “We want an increase in line with the cost of living, we want to be able to buy in 2022 what we could buy in 2021. It’s not unreasonable to ask your employer to make sure you’re not worse off.” three years in a row.”
The striking train drivers point out that Briain’s rail network has seen “great profits, dividends for shareholders and high salaries for managers”.
“Wages chase prices, they don’t keep them up,” said Mr Whelan. “We don’t see why we should waive a salary increase to keep up with inflation and help the privatized train companies make even bigger profits to send abroad.”
But Steve Montgomery, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “We are very disappointed that Aslef’s leadership has decided to impose even more uncertainty and disruption on passengers and businesses in a week that has already seen a strike by the RMT.
“Millions of passengers will see their weekend plans disrupted, especially those who are at work, or going to the Commonwealth Games or the first football game of the season.
“While we will make every effort to minimize disruption, if you are going to travel on the affected routes, please plan ahead and consult the latest travel advice.”
Mr Montgomery said rail system reforms were necessary, including ending reliance on volunteers who work weekends to improve punctuality and have a more resilient Sunday service.
He added: “With further strikes, our people will get out of pocket and mean less money to fund a pay rise, so we are urging the Aslef leadership to resume talks so we can strike a deal.” which is fair to the workforce and taxpayers, and which provides a bright, long-term future for our railroad.”
More strikes are planned next month by Aslef and the RMT in the jammed row about pay, jobs and conditions.
Montgomery made an open invitation to Aslef’s leaders to meet with him to have “meaningful talks” to resolve the dispute.
He said: “I am ready and willing to talk to Aslef’s leadership today, tomorrow or even next week.
“They should call off the action and talk to us instead. What our passengers and staff expect is for us to talk and find a way to get through this.”
The railway strikes had a knock-on effect in Dover, where Amy, 50, and her family had to arrange a private transfer from Heathrow airport before boarding their cruise.