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Aslef
Women tarring a street
May Day 2026 / 1 May 2026
1 May 2026

Aslef general secretary DAVE CALFE looks at how rail workers and miners stood together against wage cuts 100 years ago – and why the legacy of collective action endures today

Train drivers from the Aslef union on the picket line at Euston station in London, April 5, 2024
Features / 21 February 2026
21 February 2026

The newly elected general secretary of the Aslef train drivers’ union speaks to Ben Chacko about union wins, a welcome shift in approach to the rail sector and what still needs to be done

A Hull Trains passenger train at Kings Cross Station in London, September 25, 2025
Workers' Rights / 7 December 2025
7 December 2025
Dave Calfe (left) with Mick Whelan for Aslef
Workers' Rights / 6 November 2025
6 November 2025
A ScotRail train at Edinburgh Waverley Station
Workers' Rights / 5 November 2025
5 November 2025
Train drivers from the Aslef union on the picket line at Euston station in London, as they are launching a wave of fresh walkouts in a long-running dispute over pay. Train drivers at 16 rail companies are holding a rolling programme of one-day walkouts between April 5 and 8, coupled with a six-day ban on overtime. Picture date: Friday April 5, 2024
TUC Congress 2025 / 8 September 2025
8 September 2025

On the eve of the 157th Trades Union Congress, MICK WHELAN, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, celebrates victory in his campaign to get dignity for drivers at work

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan on the picket line at Euston train station in London, as members of train drivers union are launching a wave of fresh walkouts in a long-running dispute over pay, April 5, 2024
Trade Unions / 13 August 2025
13 August 2025
Pic: Neil Terry
Britain / 25 July 2025
25 July 2025

 Birmingham’s striking bin workers and supporters bring waste sites to a standstill

Train drivers from the Aslef union on the picket line at Euston station in London, April 5, 2024
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

As the labour movement meets to remember the Tolpuddle Martyrs, MICK WHELAN, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, says it’s an appropriate moment to remind the Labour government to listen to the trade unions a little more

Train drivers from the Aslef union on the picket line at Euston station in London, April 5, 2024
Workers' Rights / 1 June 2025
1 June 2025
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander (right) speaks to SWR train drivers ahead of boarding the first operational renationalised train service at Waterloo train station in central London, May 25, 2025
Railway / 25 May 2025
25 May 2025

But unions warn renationalisation must not be fudged

mich whelan
Your paper / 21 May 2025
21 May 2025
A piper walks the platform alongside the Avanti West Coast Class 390 EMU train as it arrives at Glasgow Central Station from London Euston, failing to break the 36-year-old record for the fastest train journey between London and Glasgow, June 17, 2021
Railways / 8 May 2025
8 May 2025

Our groundbreaking report reveals how private rail companies are bleeding millions from public coffers through exploitative leasing practices — but we have the solutions, writes Aslef Scottish organiser KEVIN LINDSAY  

People board a bus in the rain in Glasgow, December 12, 2023
Public Transport / 28 April 2025
28 April 2025
Members of the Aslef union on a picket line near to Leeds tr
Transport / 18 April 2025
18 April 2025

Walkout follows long-running dispute over sacking

Commuters walking past a ScotRail train at Edinburgh's Waver
Britain / 11 April 2025
11 April 2025
Sign for the London Underground seen through the closed shut
Britain / 11 April 2025
11 April 2025
Forest and Lime + Uber e-bikes on the pavement in Parliament
Britain / 13 March 2025
13 March 2025
Stand Up to Racism Sabby Dhalu co-convenor speaks at a side
Stand Up / 2 March 2025
2 March 2025
Farage's far-right party seek to scapegoat migrants to weaken workers' rights, Stand Up to Racism conference warns
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan (centre) on the picket l
Features / 22 February 2025
22 February 2025
Aslef general secretary MICK WHELAN speaks to Ben Chacko about rail renationalisation, the Employment Rights Bill and why we shouldn’t write off this Labour government
Trains at Elizabeth Line depot at Old Oak Common, in west Lo
Britain / 13 February 2025
13 February 2025
Aslef General Secretary Mick Whelan (centre) at a picket lin
Britain / 10 December 2024
10 December 2024
Members of the Aslef union on a picket line near to Leeds tr
Features / 21 November 2024
21 November 2024
NEIL FINDLAY slams the shocking lack of facilities and breaks forcing drivers to risk health and endure degrading conditions following a new report from train drivers’ union Aslef
Britain / 19 November 2024
19 November 2024
Amazon staff members on a GMB union picket line outside the
Britain / 10 October 2024
10 October 2024
Unite's Sharon Graham says the Bill fails to end zero-hours contracts and fire-and-rehire
A picket against peak fares
Britain / 1 October 2024
1 October 2024
Commuters and travellers at Edinburgh's Waverley Station
Britain / 30 September 2024
30 September 2024
Members of the Aslef union on a picket line near to Leeds tr
Britain / 25 September 2024
25 September 2024
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan (centre) on the picket l
Britain / 18 September 2024
18 September 2024
TUC 2024 / 9 September 2024
9 September 2024
Aslef general secretary MICK WHELAN writes for the Morning Star on the eve of the TUC in Brighton, about the pay offer from the DfT, relations with the Labour government, and the union’s motion at Congress calling for the renationalisation of rail freight
Members of the Aslef union on a picket line near to Leeds tr
Britain / 16 August 2024
16 August 2024
Deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner speaking at the TUC
Britain / 4 August 2024
4 August 2024
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan outside the Palace of We
Britain / 29 July 2024
29 July 2024
Mick Whelan joins MPs outside Parliament ahead of the second reading of Labour’s railway nationalisation Bill
Pipe bands and banners parade through Durham during the Durh
Durham Miners' Gala / 13 July 2024
13 July 2024
MICK WHELAN, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ trade union, writes for the Morning Star as union activists prepare to march through Durham today in a display of working-class solidarity at the 138th Durham Miners’ Gala
Mick Whelan with Labour candidate Matt Bishop, and a life si
Features / 4 July 2024
4 July 2024
MICK WHELAN, general secretary of train drivers’ trade union Aslef, writes for the Morning Star as voters prepare to go to the polls in the general election today
CLASS FIGHTER: Tosh McDonald is seeking Doncaster Central’
Features / 29 June 2024
29 June 2024
Former president of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, TOSH McDONALD is the Workers Party candidate for Doncaster Central constituency on July 4. He talks to Morning Star northern reporter Peter Lazenby
Mick Whelan (left) with EC president Dave Calfe
Features / 20 May 2024
20 May 2024
MICK WHELAN, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, writes for the Morning Star on the eve of his union’s annual conference in Manchester from Monday 20 to Friday May 24
Bill Ronksley (centre, in suit) with Tosh McDonald (centre,
Tribute / 7 May 2024
7 May 2024
Former Aslef president TOSH McDONALD pays tribute to his political mentor and to the lifetime he spent serving the left and labour movement
CLARITY AND RESOLVE: Railworkers on a picket line at Euston
Workers' Memorial Day 2024 / 27 April 2024
27 April 2024
Aslef general secretary MICK WHELAN warns that any attempt to run trains with a skeleton crew due to the outrageous stipulations of the Tories’ anti-strike Bill could easily lead to a disastrous loss of life
Diane Abbott addressing the People's Assembly Britain is Bro
Britain / 24 April 2024
24 April 2024
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan on the picket line at Eu
Britain / 22 April 2024
22 April 2024
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan (centre) on the picket l
Britain / 7 April 2024
7 April 2024
Protesters during the Protect The Right To Strike march in L
Northern TUC Conference 2024 / 24 March 2024
24 March 2024
A London Underground roundel at Oxford Circus station, in Lo
Britain / 26 February 2024
26 February 2024