LONDON — Train drivers have reached a pay deal with a regional rail operator and will not strike until the end of this month, union officials said Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, the drivers’ union ASLEF said industrial action against Wales & Borders Trains would not go ahead over the weekends of Dec. 14-15 and 21-22, due to the offer of a 19 percent pay raise.
The union said, however, that its drivers would stage walkouts in a separate pay dispute with operator First North Western.
In that dispute, drivers had been due to strike Dec. 14-15 and 21-22, but these dates have now been changed to Dec.31-Jan. 1 and Feb. 2-3 to allow time for further negotiations.
Over the last year, Britain’s privatized rail system has been hit by a series of short, localized strikes over pay and safety.
First North Western, based in Manchester, operates 1,500 trains daily in northwestern England and north Wales.
Wales & Borders operates 250 trains a day in Wales and central and southwestern England.