‘Strikes will intensify if the dispute is not resolved’
The Bee Network (Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
A union says transport chiefs cancelled talks to resolve an industrial dispute planned for Monday, adding strike action would continue as a result.
Strikes by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers in a dispute over pay will go ahead on Tuesday, the union Unite said in a statement. Transport bosses stressed bus and trams services would run as normal throughout the week.
More than 200 Unite members in roles including ticketing, passenger assistance and information services for the bus network began industrial action in October.
Unite accused TfGM of breaking the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter it signed up to.
Talks planned for Monday to ‘find a fair resolution to the dispute’, the union added, were cancelled by TfGM.
A union said strikes would ‘intensify'(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
The workers involved will now walk out on strike from tomorrow – Tuesday – through to this Friday, as originally planned, with the union warning of potential disruption to the Bee Network as a result.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s members at TfGM have put forward a reasonable proposal but are being let down by a leadership who are completely ignoring the charter they are supposed to follow. Strikes will not end until a fair deal is tabled.”
The union said workers have rejected a below inflation 3.2 per cent pay rise and are ‘demanding an increase that reflects the rising cost of living and the increased workloads they have taken on since the creation of the Bee Network’.
TfGM, it claimed, holds £2.1 billion in reserves.
“The workers will take strike action from Tuesday 25 November to Friday 28 November, causing disruption across the Bee bus network,” read the statement. “Strikes will intensify if the dispute is not resolved.”
The Bee Network(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Unite regional industrial officer Sam Marshall said: “TfGM’s excuses that it cannot afford to table a reasonable offer will not wash – it clearly can. Nor will its claims that it cannot improve on the offer because it is part of a blanket deal also offered to West Yorkshire and West Midlands transport network staff.
“TfGM made an independent pay offer last year and can do so again. The disruption caused to passengers is entirely the fault of TfGM for refusing to put forward a fair pay offer.”
TfGM said as a member of the Good Employment Charter, it was committed to paying above the Real Living Wage and ‘developing inclusive and competitive policies including flexible working and family friend policies’.
Steve Warrener, Managing Director at TfGM, said: “We met with Unite colleagues last week to continue constructive conversations and hope we can resolve pay negotiations soon. Meanwhile, the majority of TfGM’s staff are working to limit impact on passengers on strike days, and bus and trams services will run as normal this week.
“We’re absolutely committed to TfGM being a rewarding place to work and build a career, with good pay, terms and conditions. We’ve made several proposals to the unions, accommodating their asks where we can. Our current offer particularly supports those on our lowest pay bands, ensuring that no-one earns less than £15.10 per hour, the equivalent to an annual salary of over £29,000.”