Hull Trains driver strikes continue this weekend with action scheduled for Saturday as fans travel to London for the rugby league Challenge Cup final. Drivers have staged walk outs since March 31 over a sacked driver whose dismissal sparked the industrial action.
Union ASLEF, the group behind the months of industrial action at Hull Trains, say their driver member was dismissed after allegedly telling a manager he ‘nearly fell asleep’ at the controls. They say the driver had a clean safety record but had raised concerns about driver fatigue in response to discussions about long hours.
However, Hull Daily Mail understands the dispute with the firm involves the driver’s own failure to report previous incidences of fatigue in line with company safety protocols, and that this had happened on more than one occasion. As a result, the company said they believe the individual posed an unacceptable safety risk.
A spokesman for ASLEF rejected claims in national newspapers that the driver had fallen asleep while in charge of a 125mph high speed train between Hull and London. He said it was ‘impossible’ as the safety switch known as the ‘dead man’s handle’ would have activated and stopped the train automatically.
But a letter sent to Hull Trains staff, which the Hull Daily Mail has seen, explained that “disclosures made by this driver, especially against a backdrop of previous similar issues where full support and feedback was given, presented us with a safety risk that we could not ignore”.
ASLEF announced a 56-day strike after the driver was sacked, although only around a fifth of services have been cancelled by the walkout. Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: “The company seems to think that we’re going to give up and go away. And the company is wrong. That’s not what we will do. Because the company is clearly in the wrong.
“It sacked a driver, over what it claimed was a safety issue, who has a clean safety record. The driver did nothing wrong.”
The company said it was not appropriate to comment on the specific safety concern in direct relation to the individual involved. A spokesman said: “Hull Trains follows highly regulated industry standard agreements and procedures for safety. We have stringent safety reporting processes and provide extensive ongoing training and health and wellbeing support for our colleagues which has secured industry recognition.”
In addition to following rigorous industry regulations covering long hours and shift patterns for train drivers, Hull Trains has been recognised in the 2024 Great Place to Work Awards which, among other things, recognises a “great team ethos”.
The spokesman continued: “We always put safety first for both our customers and colleagues. The action taken in this matter is in line with upholding these standards.”
Nigel Roebuck, ASLEF’s regional organiser, said: “ASLEF members don’t take strike action lightly, and we fully understand the anger of passengers wishing to travel to the Challenge Cup final on Saturday at Wembley. But angry fans should understand that this is a dispute entirely engineered by the company, not by us.”
Mr Roebuck said members were “resolute in defence” of their dismissed colleague and urged the company to “stop sticking their heads in the sand and hoping this problem will go away, because it won’t.”
Hull Trains said 90% of services on Saturday for fans heading to London for the clash between Hull Kingston Rovers and Warrington Wolves will operate as normal. To mitigate against disruption for fans travelling this weekend, the company adjusted its rotas earlier in the week to ensure as many services as possible could run, with two additional services for fans travelling to and from the game. More than 5,000 passengers are expected to travel with its services on Saturday.
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