Ms Haigh said: “After two years of chaos on our railways under the Conservatives, this is an important step towards fixing our railways and getting the country moving again.
“It will ensure a more reliable service by helping to protect passengers from national strikes, and crucially, it clears the way for vital reform – including modernising outdated working practices – to ensure a better-performing railway for everyone.”
It is the latest climb-down to the unions since Sir Keir Starmer took power. On Monday, junior doctors accepted a 22 per cent pay rise – but have said they could strike again if they do not get more money.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has also signed off an above-inflation salary increase of 5.5 per cent for millions of public sector staff at a cost of nearly £10 billion. She justified the move by arguing that more strikes would cost the economy more in the long run.
Aslef had urged its 19,000 train driver members to accept the offer, which will allow them to keep their current working conditions.
Under the current system, train drivers work a four-day week totalling 35 hours. Most are not contractually required to work Saturdays and Sundays, meaning they can charge overtime for volunteering to work at weekends.
Train drivers also enjoy a series of rights collectively known as Spanish practices, which the previous government wanted to end. They include allowing staff to start their lunch break again if a boss starts talking to them and refusing to let workers use new technology such as video calls.