Aslef chief calls Grant Shapps ‘either inept or a liar’ after speech earlier today
The Aslef union has slammed Grant Shapps for lying in a speech he made earlier today, where he accused railway unions of standing in the way of modernisation by carrying out strike action.
“We’ve got to get out of these 20th century work practices in order that the whole thing works together and provides a much better service for the public,” Shapps said.
“While union bosses waste time touring television studios and standing on picket lines, I am busy getting on with the job at hand and modernising our railway.”
The secretary’s words came after 40,000 members of the union RMT walked out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday last week over job cuts and pay.
Commenting on the speech, Aslef’s general secretary Mick Whelan said: “He either doesn’t know he is wrong, in which he case he is inept, or, at least, exceptionally badly briefed, or, if he does know that what he is saying is simply not true, then he is a liar.”
According to Whelan, unions are not against modernisation as they have engaged with industry stakeholders to bring about new technology across the railway network.
“Now we have the temerity to ask for a cost-of-living pay rise, we are ‘dinosaurs’. Except we are not,” Whelan added.
The general secretary called on Shapps to clarify his comments, unless he wants the union to walk away from industry talks.
“Would Mr Shapps like to clarify the deliberate lies or misinformation?” he explained. “Because this trade union has been fully engaged in the projects he is talking about. If he would like that to change, fine; if not, then he should do the right thing and publicly apologise.”
The transport secretary announced earlier this morning £1bn worth of funding to replace the Victorian signalling system along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – which connects London to Edinburgh – with a digital one.