ANOTHER STRIKE by East Midlands Trains drivers is taking place today, while talks aimed at settling the dispute -- over pensions -- are also due to begin. EMT has said it expects to run more trains than during previous walkouts, but extensive disruption is still likely, with buses replacing trains on some routes.

The dispute has been caused by proposed changes which Aslef says will 'cheapen' the pensions plan. A spokesman said: "EMT is telling the media that they are being kind to us by 'saving' us £500 a year in money we don’t need to pay into the fund. This is very misleading. We don’t want to cheapen our fund. The company fails to mention that because the pension scheme is 'shared cost' they save £750 a year – and so £1,250 less goes into our pension fund. In fact, some £2.1 million."

But EMT said today that the walkout was a 'strike over nothing'. The operator's HR director Clare McCartney added: "The average driver will lose around £1,200 in pay by following Aslef’s misguided call for six days of strike action. We do not believe it is right to force drivers to pay £500 a year more in pension contributions than independent experts and the scheme’s trustees say is needed.

“We have a strong track record of properly funding the pensions of our employees and we will continue to do so. When additional contributions were required in recent years, we paid our share and more. We are happy to reassure Aslef that there will be no changes to drivers’ pension benefits and proper safeguards are in place."

If today's talks do not yield an agreement, more strikes are planned for Tuesday and Thursday next week.