Train drivers are to strike every weekend for the next three months over managers getting paid £2,000 bonuses to run services during industrial action.

Members of the train drivers’ union announced the fresh campaign of strikes at LNER days after securing a 14 per cent pay rise from the Government.

The strikes will occur every Saturday and Sunday from Aug 31 to Nov 10 – a total of 22 days.

Aslef claims that “a breakdown in industrial relations, bullying by management and persistent breaking of agreements” is behind the renewed strike campaign.

James Cleverly, the Tory leadership candidate, said: “The Labour Government has been played by its union paymasters. This latest wave of strikes will be devastating for families who rely on train travel to see their loved ones. Offering a no-strings pay deal to militant strikers whilst stripping millions of pensions of their winter fuel payment is nothing short of a national embarrassment.”

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said the dispute was separate from the pay rises that were agreed by the Government on Wednesday. On Friday morning, he accused LNER’s bosses of “boorish behaviour and bullying tactics”.

He called the managers “scabs” – a term of abuse for someone who works when the union wants them to go on strike – because some had stepped in to drive trains during previous Aslef walkouts.

The Aslef boss claimed managers had been handed a £2,000 bonus apiece for keeping services running while militant union workers sat at home on strike. He said: “Paying managers a bonus last month of £2,000 per person, again sanctioned by the DfT, as a thank you for breaking agreements, was the final straw for many of our members.

“The continued failure of the company to resolve long-standing industrial relations issues has forced us into this position. We would much rather not be here.

“But the company has brutally, and repeatedly, broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith. When we make an agreement, we stick to it. This company doesn’t.”

LNER runs trains between London and Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line, serving cities including Sunderland, Newcastle and York.

It comes two days after the Government agreed to give train drivers a 14.25 per cent pay rise, backdated for the past three years.

LNER has been in state ownership since 2018 after the former franchisee Virgin Trains handed it back to the Government.

The rail industry is subsidised by £12 billion a year, of which £4.4 billion goes to passenger train companies.

LNER received £85 million in subsidies during the year 2022-23, topping up the £723 million it made from ticket sales and other items such as onboard catering.

On Wednesday, Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, said: “When I took this job, I said I wanted to move fast and fix things – starting by bringing an end to rail strikes.”

As she handed Aslef a no-strings-attached pay rise, abandoning attempts made by the Tories to link the increases to reforms of costly and wasteful “Spanish practices”, she said: “The Conservatives were happy to see the taxpayer pay the price as strikes dragged on and on, and passengers suffered. This Labour Government is doing the right thing and putting passengers first.”

Under the pay increase, drivers’ salaries will average £69,000 a year for a four-day, 35-hour working week.

Nigel Roebuck, Aslef’s lead negotiator with LNER, said: “This dispute started nigh-on two years ago with our members complaining about consistently being badgered for “favours” by managers outside of rostering agreements and being contacted remotely which is also against our agreements.”

The Telegraph highlighted this week how these Spanish practices, enshrined in formal agreements made with rail unions, hold back vital productivity reforms.

An LNER spokesman said: “We are surprised and disappointed to hear this news following recent constructive conversations. We will continue to work with Aslef to find a way to end this long running dispute which only damages the rail industry.

“Our priority focus will be on minimising disruption to customers during the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays.”

Ms Haigh’s spokesman declined to respond to a request for comment.

The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.