Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen
Encyclopedia
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is the trade union
representing railway workers in Great Britain
who are train drivers
or in the line of promotion to train driver.
ASLEF is part of the International Transport Workers' Federation
and the European Transport Workers' Federation.
ASLEF is a small union (18,500 members in 2007). Its current General Secretary is Keith Norman
. British news media have sometimes characterised it as a "militant left-wing" union.
footplatemen founded a union called the Engine Drivers' and Firemen's Society. It unsuccessfully attempted strike action
, as a result of which the NER was able to break up the Society.
In 1872 an industrial union
, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
, was founded with the support of the Liberal
MP Michael Bass
. In 1872 the ASRS reported having 17,247 members but by 1882 this had declined to only 6,321.
By the end of the 1870s many UK railway companies had increased the working week from 60 to 66 hours, a 12 hour working day was common and wages had been reduced. The Great Western Railway
had not increased wages since 1867, had increased the working day from 10 to 12 hours in 1878 and then reduced wages for all but the most junior drivers and firemen in 1879. In 1879 almost 2,000 GWR locomotive drivers and firemen signed an ASRS petition to the GWR Board of Directors requesting a restoration of the 1867 conditions of service and rates of pay. The GWR reacted by refusing to meet the ASRS representatives and dismissing several of the petitioners from their jobs.
As a result of this defeat, in 1879 drivers and firemen from Griffithstown
, Pontypool
, South Wales started to organise to form a craft union
separate from the ASRS. At the time there were similar moves in parts of England towards founding an enginemen's union. A large number of drivers and firemen met in Birmingham
met on 9th December 1879 and resolved to form a National Society of Drivers and Firemen. There was a similar move by Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
drivers and firemen at Sheffield
, whom the Pontypool group called "the first founders of the Society". The Sheffield branch opened on 7th February 1880 with William Ullyott, one of its leaders, as the first member. Pontypool branch followed on 15th February, led by Charles H. Perry, one of the drivers who had unsuccessfully petitioned the GWR board the previous year. ASLEF officially records Perry as its founder. In the remainder of 1880 ASLEF opened branches at Tondu
, Liverpool
and Leeds
(April), Neath
(May), Bradford
(June), and Carnforth
(July).
ASLEF adopted and published its first Rule Book in 1881. Its title page reproduced a stanza of Robert Burns
' Man was made to mourn: A Dirge
:
For economy's sake ASLEF initially chose to be managed by its Leeds branch, as a result of which its first head office was at the Commercial Inn, Sweet Street, Holbeck
. It moved to 17 Mill Hill Chambers, Leeds in 1885 and again to 8 Park Square, Leeds in 1904. In 1921 it moved to London by buying a house at 9 Arkwright Road, Hampstead
from the family of the late Sir Joseph Beecham, Bt
. For a period in the second half of the 20th century ASLEF also owned the next door house at 7 Arkwright Road.
movement. In 1880 the ASRS denounced the enginemen's decision as "very selfish" and "an act of folly" and declared "the sooner our friends the enginemen... give up the idea of forming a separate Association the better".
ASLEF succeeded in getting more locomotive drivers and firemen to join a trades union, but it never succeeded in recruiting all drivers or firemen. In 1900 the ASRS wanted amalgamation but ASLEF proposed federation with the drivers and firemen of the ASRS. A Scheme of Federation was drafted and ASLEF's triennial conference adopted it in 1903. There were joint meetings of the Executive Committees of the two unions until 1906 when relations broke down.
In 1907 David Lloyd George
, President of the Board of Trade brought about a Conciliation Board for the railway industry with representatives of both the companies and their workforces. ASLEF initially welcomed new board but later grew dissatisfied with its slow operation and dubbed it a "Confiscation" Board. In August 1911 the ASRS, ASLEF, the United Pointsmen's and Signalmen's Society (founded 1880) and the General Railway Workers' Union (founded 1889) jointly called the United Kingdom's first national rail strike. In only two days it succeeded in forcing the Liberal Government to set up a Royal Commission to examine the workings of the 1907 Conciliation Board.
ASLEF's then General Secretary, Albert E. Fox
, claimed that the 1911 victory showed there was no need to amalgamate with the ASRS and that Federation should be restored. Fox drafted a new federation scheme but in October 1911 the ASRS rejected "the further extension of sectionalism contained therein" and expressed the opinion that the success of the national strike indicated "that one railway union will prove to be most beneficial for all railwaymen". In 1913 the ASRS, GRWU and UPSS duly merged to form the National Union of Railwaymen
. ASLEF stayed out of the new industrial union and held to the slogan "organise you trade, federate your industry" coined by Fox.
During the First World War the cost of living increased rapidly. Fron July 1914 to September 1915, for example, food prices rose 37%. For the duration of the War the government was in control of the railways. Wages were increased, but at a slower rate than the risin in the cost of living. NUR and ASLEF responded jointly and forced the Board of Trade
to award wage increases in September 1916 and April 1917. In March 1919 the coalition government indicated that it intended to review the War Wage, with a view to reducing it at the end of the year. The NUR and ASLEF started a second national railway strike in September 1919, which in nine days won both a change in pay policy and the reduction of the working day to eight hours.
After 1919 control of the railways was returned to the companies, and in 1923 the Railways Act 1921
merged about 120 of Great Britain's railways into four large regional companies. In December 1923 the new companies presented proposals that included some reductions in locomotive men's pay and conditions. Negotiations broke down and ASLEF ordered its members to strike, but the NUR instructed its members – including locomotivemen – to stay at work. After another nine day strike ASLEF was victorious, but the disagreement between ASLEF and the NUR left deep division.
Eventually ASLEF and the NUR agreed a new Railway Union Federation in 1982, but this failed to end mutual suspicion. About the time that the NUR and National Union of Seamen
merged in 1990 to form the RMT
the Federation broke down, and neither federation nor merger has been negotiated since.
that unsuccessfully sought to prevent British coal companies from reducing mineworkers' pay and conditions.
In 1955 ASLEF struck against British Rail
ways for seventeen days in a pay dispute. In 1982 both ASLEF and the NUR opposed BR proposals for flexible rostering but they failed to co-ordinate strike action. First the NUR struck against BR and ASLEF instructed its members to cross NUR picket lines. Then after the end of the NUR's dispute, ASLEF held its own strike against BR.
There have also been local disputes with individual railway operators such as those with London Underground
in 1982, 1989 and 1996.
train drivers were on a basic salary of around £12,000 per annum, supplemented by a set of enhancements for unsocial hours and overtime. Sunday had never formed part of the basic working week for train drivers in the UK, and was instead worked as overtime. Thus many drivers chose to work Sundays in order to make a better income. British Rail was run in all departments on an overtime culture to reduce overall wage bills resulting from having to employ extra staff to fill what would be uncovered vacancies. This approach had implications for fatigue and excessive hours, one result of which was witnessed in the Clapham Junction rail crash
.
From 1995 onwards the Railways Act 1993
was implemented to privatise British Rail
. In the first few years thereafter, ASLEF negotiated improved pay and conditions of service for its members from the new train operating companies
.
Train drivers are now amongst the highest-paid associate professional (as defined by UK government) workers in the UK, with the average salary in 2009 being about £40,000 (passenger) and £33,000 (freight) for a basic 35-hour week – in many cases worked over four days rather than five. As a result, relatively few drivers choose to work overtime. ASLEF aims to increase basic pay so the "overtime culture" is reduced or eliminated, in the hope that more jobs will be created to cover the work that is not covered by overtime. The health and safety issues related to overtime and fatigue would also be minimised.
Labour was founded in 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee, and in 1903 ASLEF voted to affiliate to it. In the 1906 General Election
ASLEF General Secretary Albert Fox was the LRC candidate for Leeds South
, where he polled 4,030 votes. Fox lost to the Liberal
incumbent John Lawson Walton
, but Lawson Walton died in January 1908 causing a by-election. Fox contested Leeds South a second time but lost to the new Liberal candidate William Middlebrook
.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
representing railway workers in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
who are train drivers
Railroad engineer
A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who drives a train on a railroad...
or in the line of promotion to train driver.
ASLEF is part of the International Transport Workers' Federation
International Transport Workers' Federation
The International Transport Workers' Federation is a global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2009 the ITF had 654 member organizations in 148 countries, representing a combined membership of 4.5 million workers....
and the European Transport Workers' Federation.
ASLEF is a small union (18,500 members in 2007). Its current General Secretary is Keith Norman
Keith Norman
Keith Norman is general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen , the train drivers' trade union in Great Britain. He comes from Wales, and is a supporter of the Labour Party.- External links :* from BBC website...
. British news media have sometimes characterised it as a "militant left-wing" union.
Foundation
In 1865 North Eastern RailwayNorth Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
footplatemen founded a union called the Engine Drivers' and Firemen's Society. It unsuccessfully attempted strike action
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, as a result of which the NER was able to break up the Society.
In 1872 an industrial union
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom from 1872 until 1913.The ASRS was an industrial union founded in 1871 with the support of the Liberal MP Michael Bass. Its early years were difficult...
, was founded with the support of the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP Michael Bass
Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burton
Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton KCVO , known as Sir Michael Bass, 1st Baronet, from 1882 to 1886, was a British brewer, Liberal politician and philanthropist...
. In 1872 the ASRS reported having 17,247 members but by 1882 this had declined to only 6,321.
By the end of the 1870s many UK railway companies had increased the working week from 60 to 66 hours, a 12 hour working day was common and wages had been reduced. The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
had not increased wages since 1867, had increased the working day from 10 to 12 hours in 1878 and then reduced wages for all but the most junior drivers and firemen in 1879. In 1879 almost 2,000 GWR locomotive drivers and firemen signed an ASRS petition to the GWR Board of Directors requesting a restoration of the 1867 conditions of service and rates of pay. The GWR reacted by refusing to meet the ASRS representatives and dismissing several of the petitioners from their jobs.
As a result of this defeat, in 1879 drivers and firemen from Griffithstown
Griffithstown
Griffithstown is a large community of Pontypool in the borough of Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in May, 1898, from Llanfrechfa Upper and Panteg, and includes Sebastopol, but, under the provisions of the Local Government Act...
, Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
, South Wales started to organise to form a craft union
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
separate from the ASRS. At the time there were similar moves in parts of England towards founding an enginemen's union. A large number of drivers and firemen met in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
met on 9th December 1879 and resolved to form a National Society of Drivers and Firemen. There was a similar move by Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
drivers and firemen at Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, whom the Pontypool group called "the first founders of the Society". The Sheffield branch opened on 7th February 1880 with William Ullyott, one of its leaders, as the first member. Pontypool branch followed on 15th February, led by Charles H. Perry, one of the drivers who had unsuccessfully petitioned the GWR board the previous year. ASLEF officially records Perry as its founder. In the remainder of 1880 ASLEF opened branches at Tondu
Tondu
Tondu is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend.Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th century as a coal mining village servicing the Parc Slip Colliery...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
(April), Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
(May), Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
(June), and Carnforth
Carnforth
- References :...
(July).
ASLEF adopted and published its first Rule Book in 1881. Its title page reproduced a stanza of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
' Man was made to mourn: A Dirge
Man's inhumanity to man
The phrase "Man's inhumanity to man" is first documented in my balls]] poem called Man was made to mourn: A Dirge in 1784. It is possible that Burns reworded a similar quote from Samuel von Pufendorf who in 1673 wrote, "More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature's...
:
If I'm yon haughty lordling's slave
By Nature's law designed,
Why was an independent wish
E'er planted in my mind?
If not, why am I subject to
His cruelty or scorn?
Or why has man the will and pow'r
To make his fellow mourn?
For economy's sake ASLEF initially chose to be managed by its Leeds branch, as a result of which its first head office was at the Commercial Inn, Sweet Street, Holbeck
Holbeck
Holbeck is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The district begins on the southern edge of the Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 Leeds postcode area. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the only motorway that passes through the area since...
. It moved to 17 Mill Hill Chambers, Leeds in 1885 and again to 8 Park Square, Leeds in 1904. In 1921 it moved to London by buying a house at 9 Arkwright Road, Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
from the family of the late Sir Joseph Beecham, Bt
Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet
Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet , was a British businessman.Beecham was the eldest son of Thomas Beecham and Jane Evans. He played a large part in the growth and expansion of his father's medicinal pill business which he joined in 1866. He was responsible for Beechams' factory and office in...
. For a period in the second half of the 20th century ASLEF also owned the next door house at 7 Arkwright Road.
Relations with industrial unionism
In the 1880s ASLEF's foundation as a craft union exclusively for one defined part of the railway workforce went against the industrial unionist trend of the New UnionismNew Unionism
New Unionism is a term which has been used twice in the history of the labour movement, both times involving moves to broaden the trade union agenda.-1880s:First was the development within the British trade union movement in the late 1880s...
movement. In 1880 the ASRS denounced the enginemen's decision as "very selfish" and "an act of folly" and declared "the sooner our friends the enginemen... give up the idea of forming a separate Association the better".
ASLEF succeeded in getting more locomotive drivers and firemen to join a trades union, but it never succeeded in recruiting all drivers or firemen. In 1900 the ASRS wanted amalgamation but ASLEF proposed federation with the drivers and firemen of the ASRS. A Scheme of Federation was drafted and ASLEF's triennial conference adopted it in 1903. There were joint meetings of the Executive Committees of the two unions until 1906 when relations broke down.
In 1907 David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, President of the Board of Trade brought about a Conciliation Board for the railway industry with representatives of both the companies and their workforces. ASLEF initially welcomed new board but later grew dissatisfied with its slow operation and dubbed it a "Confiscation" Board. In August 1911 the ASRS, ASLEF, the United Pointsmen's and Signalmen's Society (founded 1880) and the General Railway Workers' Union (founded 1889) jointly called the United Kingdom's first national rail strike. In only two days it succeeded in forcing the Liberal Government to set up a Royal Commission to examine the workings of the 1907 Conciliation Board.
ASLEF's then General Secretary, Albert E. Fox
Albert E. Fox
Albert E. Fox was a UK trade unionist and Labour Representation Committee politician.-Trade unionist:Fox joined the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen in 1886 and for a number of years was ASLEF Branch Secretary at Mexborough, Yorkshire...
, claimed that the 1911 victory showed there was no need to amalgamate with the ASRS and that Federation should be restored. Fox drafted a new federation scheme but in October 1911 the ASRS rejected "the further extension of sectionalism contained therein" and expressed the opinion that the success of the national strike indicated "that one railway union will prove to be most beneficial for all railwaymen". In 1913 the ASRS, GRWU and UPSS duly merged to form the National Union of Railwaymen
National Union of Railwaymen
The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. It an industrial union founded in 1913 by the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants , the United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society and the General Railway Workers' Union .The NUR...
. ASLEF stayed out of the new industrial union and held to the slogan "organise you trade, federate your industry" coined by Fox.
During the First World War the cost of living increased rapidly. Fron July 1914 to September 1915, for example, food prices rose 37%. For the duration of the War the government was in control of the railways. Wages were increased, but at a slower rate than the risin in the cost of living. NUR and ASLEF responded jointly and forced the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
to award wage increases in September 1916 and April 1917. In March 1919 the coalition government indicated that it intended to review the War Wage, with a view to reducing it at the end of the year. The NUR and ASLEF started a second national railway strike in September 1919, which in nine days won both a change in pay policy and the reduction of the working day to eight hours.
After 1919 control of the railways was returned to the companies, and in 1923 the Railways Act 1921
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
merged about 120 of Great Britain's railways into four large regional companies. In December 1923 the new companies presented proposals that included some reductions in locomotive men's pay and conditions. Negotiations broke down and ASLEF ordered its members to strike, but the NUR instructed its members – including locomotivemen – to stay at work. After another nine day strike ASLEF was victorious, but the disagreement between ASLEF and the NUR left deep division.
Eventually ASLEF and the NUR agreed a new Railway Union Federation in 1982, but this failed to end mutual suspicion. About the time that the NUR and National Union of Seamen
National Union of Seamen
The National Union of Seamen was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers .- The National Amalgamated...
merged in 1990 to form the RMT
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
the Federation broke down, and neither federation nor merger has been negotiated since.
Major industrial disputes
ASLEF has taken part in several national rail strikes. The 1911 joint strike with the ASRS, 1919 joint strike with the NUR and 1924 strike of ASLEF without the NUR are described above. ASLEF and the NUR were prominent participants in the 1926 General Strike1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
that unsuccessfully sought to prevent British coal companies from reducing mineworkers' pay and conditions.
In 1955 ASLEF struck against British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways for seventeen days in a pay dispute. In 1982 both ASLEF and the NUR opposed BR proposals for flexible rostering but they failed to co-ordinate strike action. First the NUR struck against BR and ASLEF instructed its members to cross NUR picket lines. Then after the end of the NUR's dispute, ASLEF held its own strike against BR.
There have also been local disputes with individual railway operators such as those with London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
in 1982, 1989 and 1996.
Since railway privatisation
In the latter years of British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
train drivers were on a basic salary of around £12,000 per annum, supplemented by a set of enhancements for unsocial hours and overtime. Sunday had never formed part of the basic working week for train drivers in the UK, and was instead worked as overtime. Thus many drivers chose to work Sundays in order to make a better income. British Rail was run in all departments on an overtime culture to reduce overall wage bills resulting from having to employ extra staff to fill what would be uncovered vacancies. This approach had implications for fatigue and excessive hours, one result of which was witnessed in the Clapham Junction rail crash
Clapham Junction rail crash
The Clapham Junction rail crash was a serious railway accident involving two collisions between three commuter trains at 08:10 on the morning of Monday, 12 December 1988....
.
From 1995 onwards the Railways Act 1993
Railways Act 1993
The Railways Act 1993 was introduced by John Major's Conservative government and passed on 5 November 1993. It provided for the restructuring of the British Railways Board , the public corporation that owned and operated the national railway system...
was implemented to privatise British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
. In the first few years thereafter, ASLEF negotiated improved pay and conditions of service for its members from the new train operating companies
Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
.
Train drivers are now amongst the highest-paid associate professional (as defined by UK government) workers in the UK, with the average salary in 2009 being about £40,000 (passenger) and £33,000 (freight) for a basic 35-hour week – in many cases worked over four days rather than five. As a result, relatively few drivers choose to work overtime. ASLEF aims to increase basic pay so the "overtime culture" is reduced or eliminated, in the hope that more jobs will be created to cover the work that is not covered by overtime. The health and safety issues related to overtime and fatigue would also be minimised.
Membership
The record of membership numbers is not complete for all years of the Society's history. However, some key years will give an indication of ASLEF's growth in its first seven decades.- 1881 – 651
- 1889 – 5,039
- 1892 – 6,710
- 1894 – 7,524
- 1901 – 10,502
- 1908 – 19,800
- 1910 – 19,800
- 1913 – 32,200
- 1916 – 34,039
- 1918 – 39,940
- 1919 – 57,184
- 1937 – 53,857
- 1939 – 53,325
- 1946 – 71,842
Political affiliation
ASLEF is affiliated to the Labour Party.Labour was founded in 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee, and in 1903 ASLEF voted to affiliate to it. In the 1906 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
ASLEF General Secretary Albert Fox was the LRC candidate for Leeds South
Leeds South (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds South was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election...
, where he polled 4,030 votes. Fox lost to the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
incumbent John Lawson Walton
John Lawson Walton
Sir John Lawson Walton KC was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Family and education:John Lawson Walton was the son of the Reverend John Walton MA, a Wesleyan missionary in Ceylon who later preached at Grahamstown in South Africa and who became President of the Wesleyan Conference for...
, but Lawson Walton died in January 1908 causing a by-election. Fox contested Leeds South a second time but lost to the new Liberal candidate William Middlebrook
Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet
Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet was an English solicitor and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:...
.
General Secretaries
- 1880–1885 – Joseph Brooke
- 1885–1901 – Thomas G. Sunter
- 1901–1914 – Albert E. FoxAlbert E. FoxAlbert E. Fox was a UK trade unionist and Labour Representation Committee politician.-Trade unionist:Fox joined the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen in 1886 and for a number of years was ASLEF Branch Secretary at Mexborough, Yorkshire...
- 1914–1936 – John (Jack) Bromley
- 1936–1939 – W.J.R. (Richard) Squance
- 1940–1947 – William P. Allen
- 1948–1956 – James Baty
- 1956–1960 – Albert Hallworth
- 1960–1964 – William J. Evans
- 1964–1970 – Albert Griffiths
- 1970–1987 – Ray BucktonRay BucktonRay Buckton was general secretary of ASLEF, the rail drivers' trade union in Great Britain.He also served on the TUC general council. He was born in Rillington, Yorkshire.-External links:* from The Independent...
- 1987–1990 – Neil Milligan
- 1990–1993 – Derrick Fullick
- 1993–1998 – Lew AdamsLew AdamsLew Adams is a British former trade unionist.Adams started his career with British Rail aged 15, working his way up to become a steam locomotive driver....
- 1998–2003 – Mick RixMick RixMick Rix is a British trade unionist and politician.-Union career:Rix is the former General Secretary of ASLEF. Rix left school at 16, and started work the next day, with no qualifications...
- 2003–2004 – Shaun BradyShaun BradyShaun Brady was general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen , the train drivers' trade union in Great Britain....
- 2004–today – Keith NormanKeith NormanKeith Norman is general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen , the train drivers' trade union in Great Britain. He comes from Wales, and is a supporter of the Labour Party.- External links :* from BBC website...