Drivers join rail strikes with ballots set to spread | News

The crisis threatening Britain’s railways this summer has deepened after train drivers voted to join the biggest rail strikes in a generation.

A union leader warned of a “summer of discontent” as drivers on three lines backed industrial action, with the strike ballots expected to spread.

The railway walkout, the largest since 1989, will coincide with a strike by 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, set for June 21, 23 and 25. Now two other unions have joined the fray: Aslef, representing drivers, and the Transport and Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), of non-driving staff.

Strikes elsewhere across British infrastructure are also being considered. Members of the GMB and Unite unions working for British Airways at Heathrow are voting on action.