Bus drivers set to strike after talks on pay offer break down

PASSENGERS IN DURHAM TO SUFFER DISRUPTION THIS WEEK

DURHAM bus passengers are facing a week of ‘severe’ disruption after drivers confirmed they WILL go on strike as of this weekend.

Around 650 drivers are set to take industrial action from Sunday after overwhelmingly rejecting a pay offer from the transport giant.

Talks on Thursday between Unite, the union which represents the drivers, and the Arriva Durham County Limited management broke down when the company said there was “no new money” on the table.

Unite accused the bosses of “going around and around in circles” after the drivers had overwhelmingly rejected a revised pay offer just before Christmas.

Arriva has urged Unite to reconsider strike action, saying the union’s claims over pay are a “false flag.”

The drivers, based at Darlington, Durham, Redcar, Stockton and Whitby, will walk out at a minute past midnight tomorrow, Sunday, until 11.59 on Saturday, January 12.

Unite has said the crux of the dispute was the belief bus drivers were the second-lowest paid drivers of all the Arriva bus companies across the UK.

Arriva has questioned the union’s claim of pay inequality.

In what it calls “an unprecedented move,” the company has released a wages comparison report to Unite demonstrating its pay offer will in fact consolidate the drivers’ position as being among the very highest-paid bus drivers in the region.

It claims the comparison in research, based on readily-available wage data, shows that under the new pay offer:

■ ARRIVA claims drivers will be paid better hourly rates than virtually all of their counterparts at other bus companies in the North East, when factoring in the fact they are paid for meal breaks.

■ IT says there are only two depots out of more than 20 in the North East at which bus drivers are paid more than Arriva drivers and that difference is only 3p per hour more than Arriva Durham drivers will earn, again factoring in the value of paid meal breaks.

■ THE average Arriva driver pay for a top rate driver for a basic 39-hour week at £10.60 per hour will be £413.40 per week.

■ MANY drivers also volunteer for overtime, which would top up weekly pay to around £500.

■ ARRIVA’s latest pay offer, rejected by the Unite union, comprised a 7.6% increase on hourly rates over a twoyear period, a reduction in the length of time it takes drivers to hit the top rate of pay and a guarantee of a further increase in March 2020 equivalent to £1 an hour.

Arriva bus routes and services across Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire will be seriously disrupted by the seven-day action. The company will operate a contingency bus service during the strike with details on its website, social media and helpline.

Those buses which do operate will be free to all passengers.

Unite regional officer Bob Bolam said: “We were keen to have meaningful negotiations with the bus bosses as we appreciate the week-long strike, starting on Sunday will cause severe disruption to bus users across the north east. However, when it came down to brass tacks there was no new money on the table - the management went around and around in circles.

“As a result, the strike will go ahead on Sunday as planned.

“We are still open for a positive dialogue with just over 48 hours to go before our members walk out.”