{"id":629297,"date":"2025-12-13T01:30:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T01:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/629297\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T01:30:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T01:30:48","slug":"if-the-strike-goes-ahead-its-not-worth-me-being-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/629297\/","title":{"rendered":"If the strike goes ahead, it’s not worth me being here"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Derby games used to cause transport chaos but it’s just like that everyday now’<\/p>\n

20:35, 12 Dec 2025Updated 20:36, 12 Dec 2025<\/p>\n

\"LuthiaLuthia and Albert.(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

People in Manchester have voiced their frustration and concerns over proposed strike action<\/a> by public transport<\/a> workers set to take place on Saturday, 13 December.<\/p>\n

More than 200 members of Unite the Union and an undisclosed number of Unison members are expected to walk out, affecting tram and bus services all over Greater Manchester<\/a>. Staff working in roles such as ticketing, passenger assistance and information services will refuse to work due to an ongoing pay dispute.<\/p>\n

Transport for Greater Manchester<\/a> (TfGM) workers began industrial action in October. Unite says the workers rejected a below inflation 3.2 per cent increase<\/a>, and are demanding a raise that ‘reflects the rising cost of living and the increased workloads they have taken on since the creation of the Bee Network<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n

With the Christmas markets<\/a> in full flow and shops packed with keen gift-givers, the disruption to both the Metrolink<\/a> and Bee Network could cause disruption to many people’s plans. The Manchester Evening News went into the city centre to ask people their opinions.<\/p>\n

Terence, a 94-year-old free bus pass holder told the MEN: “I only use the bus because it’s free. I don\u2019t drive anymore and the train does not run near me. I come out to see people as I live alone and have no visitors. If the buses are on strike, I won’t come out at all and won’t see anyone all weekend.”<\/p>\n

\"94-year-old94-year-old Terence who relies on getting the bus into town to socialise.(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Luthia and Albert, both 35, are visiting for the weekend and are gutted to hear that trams and buses won’t be running as usual.<\/p>\n

“This is our first visit to Manchester,” they said. “We have stadium tour tickets for tomorrow at United<\/a> and City<\/a>. We will cancel them and see if we are refunded. We did not hire a car and have not budgeted for a taxi.”<\/p>\n

Evan, a 28-year-old stall holder at the Christmas<\/a> markets said he understands the need for strike action but was unaware they were planned for this weekend.<\/p>\n

He said: “If the strike goes ahead, it’s not worth me being here if half my customers don\u2019t make it in. Uber<\/a> proper take the p*ss whenever there are strikes. Derby games used to cause chaos but it’s just like that everyday now.”<\/p>\n

Evan added. “My female staff don’t feel safe walking to work when the bus gets cancelled so it leaves me short staffed.”<\/p>\n

\"Evan,Evan, a 28-year-old stall holder at the Christmas Markets, said he understands the need for strike action but was unaware they were planned.(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Poppy and her companion use the Wigan<\/a> bus service so are not affected by the strikes. “The Wigan buses are better,” Poppy said. “We only use VI or V2.” Her companion stated that “Burnham’s buses are old, knackered scrap from London” and shared her belief that drivers felt unsafe driving them now and could fully understand their strike action on safety grounds.<\/p>\n

Greater Manchester Police<\/a> said they were expecting high volumes of traffic and potential accidents on Saturday. More strikes are currently planned for the 19th and 20th of this month so bear that in mind if you’re planning on heading into town to soak up the festive atmosphere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘Derby games used to cause transport chaos but it’s just like that everyday now’ 20:35, 12 Dec 2025Updated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,8825,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-629297","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-transport-for-greater-manchester","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115709679919098089","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}