Angela FergusonNorth West
More than 2,000 bus workers are set to cause “travel chaos” when they strike for a further three days over “low pay”, a union has said.
The Unite union said strikes involving Stagecoach, First Bus Rochdale and Metroline staff on Manchester’s Bee Network would take place from 30 September to 2 October in addition to strikes from this Friday to Monday.
Unite regional officer, Colin Hayden, said: “The strikes this week as well as the further action we have called will cause travel chaos in Greater Manchester.”
Metroline Manchester and Stagecoach Manchester said they were committed to finding a resolution. First Bus Rochdale was asked for comment.
Mr Hayden said the strikes were taking place because the employers involved had “failed to address the issue of low pay and reward their staff accordingly”.
“It is time for the employers to make an offer that is acceptable to our members to resolve this disruption,” he added.
A Unite spokesperson said the further strike dates were announced after Stagecoach, Metroline and First Bus Rochdale failed to come back to negotiations with an improved pay offer deemed acceptable to its members.
About two thirds of Bee Network buses would not be running during the strike, including some school services, they added.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: “Further strike action will be extremely disruptive however this is a dispute entirely of the bus companies’ making and they could solve it easily by coming back with a better deal.
The union added members at Stagecoach, Metroline and First Bus Rochdale did not believe the current pay rises reflected the difficult and skilled jobs they did and failed to address years of low pay, while it said workers at First Bus Rochdale were the worst paid in the region.
‘Very sorry’
Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) chief network officer Danny Vaughan said they were “doing all we can to let people know about this and minimise the disruption and keep Greater Manchester moving”.
He said TfGM encouraged operators and their unions to continue talks, reach agreement and avoid disruption for passengers.
Mr Vaughan said they were “very sorry for any disruption or inconvenience”, adding that trams and trains would run as normal as well as some buses in parts of Greater Manchester.
A Metroline Manchester spokesperson said they remained “open and committed to finding a solution” and encouraged Unite to engage in discussions.
They said they were “extremely disappointed in Unite’s decision to announce strike action”.
Had the pay offer been accepted, “it would ensure that our drivers continue be amongst the best paid outside of London”, they added.
Rob Jones, managing director of Stagecoach Manchester, said they had worked closely with the union to try to agree a pay deal and had “done our utmost to present an offer that meets their expectations, tabling an 8.8% increase across two years that significantly exceeds inflation”.
He said they were disappointed no resolution had been found, but any deal had to be affordable for the long-term sustainability of their operations across Greater Manchester.
