Strike Vote To Be Held At UK Commuter Carrier

LONDON (AP) — Train drivers at U.K. rail operator First Capital Connect will vote on authorizing a strike in a dispute over a new contract, the workers' union said Wednesday.

The company operates London commuter services south to Brighton and north to Bedford, Peterborough and King's Lynn.

The strike vote for the 550 drivers was announced on the same day that First Capital Connect was forced to cancel 50 trains on the Bedford-Brighton service because drivers are refusing to work overtime. Results of the vote are expected to be announced on Dec. 9.

"We regret that matters have come to this, particularly at a company where profit levels have bucked the trend of the recession," said Keith Norman, general secretary of ASLEF — the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen.

Voting is expected to start next week, said ASLEF press officer Chris Proctor.

The company said it had made a fair pay offer of no raises in the next year and at least 3 percent in the second year.

For the six months ending Sept. 30, parent company First Group PLC reported a net profit up 31.3 million pounds ($47 million), up 14 percent from a year earlier. In its rail operations, the company said passenger revenue was down 1.7 percent to 949.1 million pounds and operating profit rose 5.2 percent to 50.8 million pounds.