Strike by bus drivers to continue after talks fail

LONDON: A long-running strike by bus drivers is to continue after the collapse of talks aimed at resolving a dispute over new contracts.

Unite said protracted negotiations with Go North West and Unite had ended without agreement, so industrial action in Manchester will continue “for the foreseeable future”.

More than 400 drivers who are members of Unite have been on all-out strike since February 28, with Saturday marking the end of the fifth week of action. Unite claims new contracts will mean drivers will work longer for no additional pay. The union’s north west regional secretary Ritchie James said: “Unite has tried to resolve this dispute through negotiations and put forward over £1.3 million of savings proposals, but Go North West deemed this insufficient.

“As a result of the failure of the talks, Unite will be stepping up its campaign to ensure that Go North West drops its plans to fire and rehire its loyal workers. Bus drivers who have kept working throughout the pandemic, risking their health and that of their families, deserve better than this.”

Nigel Featham, managing director of Go North West, said: “Unite continues to make wild claims over supposed pay cuts, job losses and what they misleadingly call ‘fire and rehire’ that bear no resemblance whatsoever to the facts.

“Go North West is losing nearly £2 million annually due to outdated working practices. The company’s initial proposal to turn around the company included no job cuts, guaranteed pay increases this year and next, and a £5,000 lump sum payment to each of its 480 drivers. Unite said ‘no’.

“Our workforce is beside itself with worry, but instead of a constructive dialogue, all we get from the local Unite representatives is a set of moving goal posts and a succession of U-turns. The conciliation service Acas became involved in talks five weeks ago and even they declared yesterday they’d had enough.

“This dispute and this strike is entirely of Unite’s making. All we want is for the local union representatives to work constructively and collaboratively with us to secure 600 people’s jobs and livelihoods.”