Why Are Manchester's Bus Driver's Striking?
Bus drivers are striking in eight locations citing below-inflation pay offers and a lack of basic facilities.
Bus drivers across Greater Manchester are taking part in a series of strikes from 19th - 22nd September causing major disruption to services in the city. In a strong show of solidarity, bus drivers were consistently supported by passing the picket lines.
Strikes were announced in response to pay rises below rates of inflation meaning drivers can’t keep up with the cost of living and working conditions. One condition being the lack of toilet facilities available while on shift including a Stagecoach message which read, “if nature calls while you’re on the go and you have to use a bottle for a quick comfort break (we get it - tight schedules happen), please make sure to take it with you.”
The statement was later branded “wholly inappropriate” by Stagecoach after the backlash.
By the Hyde Road depot in Ardwick, Julie Downes, a bus driver for 23 years said, “drivers get spat at, abused. We have no facilities to go to the toilet. It’s human rights, we should be able to go to the toilet when we need to, instead of waiting five hours sometimes.”
On pay conditions, Julie said, “we do not want more hours, on top of what we’re already working just to fund our pay rise.”
Colin Hayden, Unite Regional Officer, also at the Hyde Road depot said, “our members want a pay rise which reflects the difficult job that they do. They all work for the same company, under the Bee Network, and yet we’ve got drivers who are earning up to £120 a week less than others for doing the same job.”
On driving conditions Colin said, “the companies don’t understand it’s the drivers that get the brunt of that kick-back from the passengers [for variable driving conditions], they’re delivering a front-line public service and they deserve a fair and adequate pay reward.”
At the Stockport depot, Simon Thomas, the Senior Shop Steward for Stagecoach Manchester said, “we’ve had an increase in the workload that’s unprecedented in my 23 years in the bus industry. We’ve also seen year-on-year below inflation pay rises and in spite of recent gains, we’re still not keeping up with the cost of living.”
With more strikes planned from the 30th September to 2nd October, more interruption to Manchester’s bus service is likely before any solution is found.