Angry pensioners blast ‘unfair’ Labour for doling out pay rises to train drivers while scrapping their winter fuel payments _ Hieuuk
Labour has been accused of prioritising their trade union paymasters over pensioners after train drivers were handed a 14 per cent pay hike.
In a ‘no strings’ deal struck between the Government and Aslef, rail workers who staged a series of strikes are set to see their average salaries rise to nearly £70,000.
It comes shortly after junior doctors also agreed a pay deal with ministers to end industrial action, which could see their wages rising by 22 per cent over two years.
At the same time, Labour is axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners as Chancellor Rachel Reeves looks to fill a £22billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances.
Charities said many ‘angry’ retirees felt they were being treated as a ‘lower priority’ by the Government as they hit out at ‘unfair’ actions by ministers.
And the Tories accused Labour of bowing down to trade unions over passengers, taxpayers and elderly people.
In a ‘no strings’ deal struck between the Government and Aslef, rail workers who staged a series of strikes are set to see their average salaries rise to nearly £70,000
At the same time, Labour is axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners as Chancellor Rachel Reeves looks to fill a £22billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances
Charities said many ‘angry’ retirees who face losing their winter fuel payments felt they were being treated as a ‘lower priority’ by the Government
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: ‘We have been inundated with messages from pensioners who are angry and upset about the impact on them of losing their winter fuel payment this winter.
‘And, in the light of news stories about various industrial disputes being settled, some are also commenting that they feel they are being treated as a lower priority and that this is unfair.’
Tory MP Helen Whately, the shadow transport secretary, said: ‘The Government has chosen to prioritise the unions over passengers and taxpayers — and pensioners, too.’
Train drivers are set to vote on their multi-year pay offer, which is 5 per cent for 2019 to 2022, 4.75 per cent for 2022 to 2024 and a further 4.5 per cent for 2024 to 2025.
The deal will see the average driver’s salary soar from £60,000 to £69,000 and bosses at the Aslef union claimed it was a ‘no strings’ offer.
The previous Tory government had proposed reforms to working rules – dubbed ‘Spanish Practices’ – as part of a deal with Aslef in a bid to reduce the cost of running the railways.
But these appear to have been ditched by Labour after they began talks with union bosses shortly after winning power last month.
Aslef donated £100,000 to the Labour Party in the second week of the general election campaign.
As well as a hike for striking junior doctors, pay rises for other public sector workers were also recently announced by Ms Reeves as she laid out plans for public spending in the early weeks of Labour coming to power.
The Chancellor said she would take winter fuel payments away from about 10 million people by only making them available for those on means-tested benefits.
Previously the payments were universal for all pensioners in England and Wales.
Ms Reeves said the Government will keep paying winter fuel payments of £200 to households receiving pension credit, or £300 to those who also have someone over 80 years old.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds this morning said it was ‘unfair’ to suggest more public sector workers will take industrial action in light of the Government’s pay offers to train drivers and junior doctors.
He said the Government was ‘sticking to the promises we made in opposition’ in its deals with public sector workers.
When it was put to him that other public sector workers will be queuing up for a double-digit pay rise after the Government’s offer to train drivers and junior doctors, Mr Thomas-Symonds disagreed.
‘I think that’s an unfair characterisation as well,’ the Paymaster General told Times Radio.
‘I think what is absolutely crucial here is we are a Government again that is sticking to the promises we made in opposition.
‘We promised we would sit down and find solutions, and people expressed scepticism about that, but actually that is precisely what we have done in Government.’
He said it was wrong to suggest there would be no reform of the railways alongside the pay offer, adding: ‘We are absolutely looking to deliver a better service for passengers and, frankly, it’s a low bar given the state the railways have been in in recent years.’
Aslef’s dispute is believed to be the longest-running one of its kind in history of Britain’s railways, according to the union.
The drivers are being recommended to accept the offer, which would end the two-year-long dispute, during which they have taken 18 days of strike action as well as refusing to work non-contractual overtime, causing huge disruption to passengers.
