NATIONAL Express East Anglia has responded to the announcement that trade union ASLEF had rejected the rail company s revised pay offer.A ballot conducted by the train drivers union revealed that its 800 members in the company did not accept the propose

NATIONAL Express East Anglia has responded to the announcement that trade union ASLEF had rejected the rail company's revised pay offer.

A ballot conducted by the train drivers' union revealed that its 800 members in the company did not accept the proposed revised deal. Further days of industrial action will be announced in the near future, but the first date for the resumed strikes will be Monday September 21. The action will continue for the entire week.

Andrew Chivers, managing director National Express East Anglia commented: "I am extremely disappointed that the ASLEF train drivers' union has rejected our pay offer which amounts to a salary increase of at least four per cent within a year, and announced a resumption of strike action from September 21 on National Express East Anglia services.

"Even though our offer has been accepted by the RMT and TSSA unions by over 80 per cent votes in their ballots, ASLEF is planning to cause further unnecessary and totally unjustified disruption to our customers who have already suffered enough through the earlier series of strikes.

"We will be asking the ASLEF union for urgent talks to avert any further strike action.