Manchester transport strikes escalate as workers reject insulting pay offer

Unite the Union announced yesterday that the Manchester transport strikes will escalate this week. Over 200 Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers just voted to reject an insulting 3.2% pay offer.

Meanwhile, ballots are underway for Manchester tram workers. Should they vote to reject, the industrial action may disrupt the city’s tram network over the crucial Christmas market season.

A real-terms cut

The workers who voted in the recent ballot include vital roles like passenger assistance, ticketing and information services for the Bee Network. Alongside pay, the staff are also disputing stand-by, call-out and four-day working week policies.

The 3.2% offer they chose to reject was a slap in the face from TfGM. The current rate of Retail Price Index inflation stands at 4.6%, and even higher on basic goods like food. As ever, this means that lower-wage earners are hit the hardest by tepid pay increases.

The workers, who fall at the lowest end of TfGM’s pay scale, are demanding a pay rise that’s actually in line with the cost of living. Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said:

Unite does not accept pay cuts dressed up as increases, which is exactly what TfGM is offering its staff. These workers have Unite’s total support in their fight for a reasonable pay offer.

TfGM workers previously staged three days of strikes less than a month ago, in the latter half of October. Now, standing alongside Unison members who are embroiled in the same dispute, they’re striking today and on 12 November.

Manchester transport strike — Balloting underway for tram drivers

Meanwhile, balloting for industrial action on Manchester’s tram network has already begun, and is scheduled to end on 11 November. Over 300 drivers are involved in the dispute, which centres on fatigue and working conditions.

As things stand, shift patterns mean that the drivers have to work 450 hours over 3 months. The practical upshot of this is that some drivers are doing two lots of 50 hours on, with a rest period of just 2 days.

The tram drivers also have fewer rest days than any other operational department. As such, and given that the drivers operate heavy vehicles around the general public, their tiredness is causing serious safety concerns.

The drivers involved work for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited, at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots. They work on routes all across the Greater Manchester area. As such, their industrial action could cause massive disruption for Christmas travel period.

KeolisAmey bosses have stated categorically that they won’t be putting any money forward to improve the working patterns. In fact, to make matters worse, they had the nerve to tell drivers to start work even earlier. Unite regional officer Colin Hayden said:

Any strike action will cause a great deal of disruption but it is entirely the fault of Metrolink, which is not taking the issue of driver fatigue seriously.

It is dangerous for fatigued workers to be driving trams and they should not be put in this situation. We are demanding that Metrolink and Transport for Greater Manchester work with Unite to find a solution to this problem to avoid industrial action.

Christmas market chaos

The tram drivers could begin their strikes before the end of November. This is a key bargaining tool, given that it would cause widespread cancellations during the main weeks of festive shopping.

Manchester’s world-famous Christmas markets have already begun. The disruption on the bus and tram networks could potentially mean a lot of disgruntled shoppers — and a major economic hit for the city.

What’s more, the bus workers have already threatened more action should TfGM fail to come up with a reasonable offer. Echoing Hayden’s statement, Unite’s Sarah Marshall directed the blame squarely onto the shoulders of transport bosses:

TfGM is entirely responsible for the disruption to passengers that will be caused across Manchester’s bus and tram network. TfGM workers are clear: industrial action will not end until a fair pay offer is put forward.

Featured image via TfGM