Minimum disruption on Metro

Nexus says that a strike by more than 50 Tyne and Wear Metro engineers will cause only ‘minimum’ disruption.

Having already begun an overtime ban on October 15, the Unite members will go on strike from November 14-28 after rejecting a 4% pay offer and a one-off payment of £1,000. More strikes are threatened if the dispute is not resolved.

“Stadler has assured us that they have contingency plans in place [to deliver a core service], so that Metro services will still operate during the strike and disruption will be kept to a minimum,” said Nexus.

It admitted there is a “risk of some peak extra trains having to be cancelled”. That depends on how many cars of the ageing fleet need to be stopped for repairs during the strike.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Stadler brings in huge profits but expects our members to take a pay cut during a cost-of-living crisis. The company can afford to pay a decent rise and that’s exactly what it should do.”

In October 2020, Stadler won a £300 million contract to rebuild Gosforth depot, build 42 new Metro trains, and maintain them for 35 years.