A new wave of industrial action in British transport and services begins this weekend when bus workers in Merseyside went on strike, while other actions are planned on the rail network and are threatening airports and offices. post.
The strike by Stagecoach drivers and other bus workers on Monday comes when Arriva bus drivers in West Yorkshire agreed to suspend strikes after a month of action, and as talks continued to prevent further strikes. national railways.
Some 370 Unite members at Stagecoach in Merseyside are on strike for eight days in July, while a vote of some 1,800 Arriva bus employees closes on Monday in the north-west of England, in parallel disputes over the pay.
Unite warned there would be serious disruptions, but said there was “deep anger” among its members over a low salary. Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Diligence makes money with its fist. Our members are making it very clear that they will no longer accept that this rich company pays them badly.”
Stagecoach said it had made an offer that would have made its drivers, who went on strike on July 4, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 28 and 29, the highest paid in Merseyside.
From the vote of Arriva drivers in the Northwest, Graham said the operator had not made a “realistic offer,” with RPI inflation now at 11.1%.
The company has now made an improved payment offer in West Yorkshire, where services will resume on Saturday after a four-week strike that stopped buses on most routes in the region.
Meanwhile, drivers in Great Anglia will go on a second 24-hour strike on Saturday, stopping more than 90% of network services. Only limited trains will run from Norwich, Colchester and Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street.
Most members of the Aslef union have so far remained aloof from the RMT’s broader rail strike action that stopped much of the railway in Britain for a week in late June, although the drivers of numerous operators have been voted for an industrial action.
Talks continued between Network Rail, train operators and unions on issues such as labor reform, although no progress has been reported.
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, said there had been “constructive meetings” throughout the week and was “prudently optimistic.” He told the BBC that Network Rail was still looking to make the planned 1,800 job cuts through voluntary redundancies and “the negotiations give me hope to think it is possible”.
Avanti West Coast TSSA union members on Wednesday voted in favor of the strike, while the union continues to vote Network Rail managers for industrial action.
Labor shortages and inflation have increased industrial unrest in other sectors. Unite said there had been discussions with British Airways after 500 members of Heathrow’s billing staff voted in favor of a pay strike. Salaries were cut by 10% during the pandemic and while BA has offered an equivalent bonus payment for this year, the union wants the salary to be restored.
National Unit official Oliver Richardson said: “This has never been about a pay rise, it’s just about getting these workers’ wages back to their pre-pandemic levels.”
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The Survation poll commissioned by the union said 73% of the public believed BA should return the salary, which was reduced after the airline “fired and rehired” its staff when flights were blocked during months because of Covid.
Meanwhile, additional strikes have been called this month affecting postage charges and cash deliveries. The Communications Workers Union announced on Friday that supply chain and administration workers would leave on July 14, three days after 1,500 employees at Crown Post Offices went on a 24-hour strike.
The CWU said it responded to a 3% pay offer after a pay freeze last year. Deputy Secretary Andy Furey said: “Everyone knows that the only solution is a fair pay increase that adequately rewards members for their extraordinary efforts to serve the public and provide a cost-effective post office, while taking into account the ‘extreme cost of living’.