No Go in the North East

Jonathan Welch takes a brief look at the now resolved strike action which has troubled Go North East over the last three months

We generally don’t cover strikes in CBW’s news pages, as they’re often fast-moving, and it’s the nature of a weekly publication that by the time it lands in readers’ hands, the situation has changed or moved on. The last thing we’d want to do is give out incorrect information, especially where people’s livelihoods or ability to plan important travel are affected.

Whilst many operators around the country, including in London, Manchester and Glasgow have been affected by calls for strike action in a drive to improve pay and conditions since the pandemic, it’s been impossible not to note the long-running industrial action at Go North East, with both sides digging in their heels, leading to three months of uncertainty for staff and passengers alike.

When I passed through Gateshead and Newcastle in the week following resumption of services, middle of the day buses seemed to be carrying average loads, but were also operating free for a week as an apology to passengers from Go North East for the disruption they had faced.

Back on 17 August, trade union Unite reported that 1,300 of its members at the Go-Ahead Group operator had been balloted for strike action following below-inflation pay offers, warning that a walk-out could take place if what it called a ‘derisory’ offer that ‘included cuts to terms and conditions’ wasn’t improved.

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“Go North East can easily afford to increase pay offers given the latest accounts of its parent company, the Go-Ahead Group, show bus group profits of nearly £85 million,” the union said.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Go-Ahead is a massive company running bus services, not just in the north-east of England, but across the country and overseas. Yet they treat their workers with contempt by offering real-term pay cuts with these below-inflation offers. Unite does what it says on the trade union tin and it always puts the jobs, pay and conditions of its members first, the workers at Go North East will be receiving Unite’s total support.”

Unite’s regional officer Dave Telford added: “Strike action will inevitably cause severe disruption to bus passengers across north-east England, but this dispute is entirely the own making of Go North East’s management. They have had every opportunity to make an offer to meet our members’ expectations but have failed to do so.”

Counter-claims

The operator hit back the following day, saying that it had made an ‘unprecedented offer to increase pay by £2,400 per year’ backdated to 1 July. Go North East said it had offered an ‘inflation-busting pay proposal despite making losses of £4.3 million in its most recent published accounts.’ The proposal included what the company said was ‘some standardisation of working practices across its six depots’ and guaranteed a further inflation-linked pay increase next year.

Go North East Business Director Ben Maxfield said at the time: “The two most talked about inflation measures, CPI and RPI, are currently running at 6.4% and 9.0% respectively. Our offer of 9.11% beats both these figures and means our driver pay package will be among the very best in the region.” He went on to accuse Unite of refusing to engage with the offer and claiming ‘without any attempt at justification’ that driver pay is not keeping up with inflation. “Quite simply, it is a false flag, and one that could lead to unnecessary industrial action and needless disruption for passengers. Unite would be striking for something they have already been offered,” he said.

By 18 September, the operator welcomed ACAS talks in an effort to improve the deteriorating situation, pointing out again that the offer would mean most drivers would receive an extra £2,400 per year, and those who work overtime would see rises of closer to £2,900.

Strikes looked set to take place between 30 September and 7 October and between 14 and 21 October 2023, with the potential to ‘cause major disruption for the 175,000 people’ every day. “Our drivers are important to us, and we have shown a genuine commitment to their financial security by offering the real terms pay increase they have been asking for,” said Ben. “Given all parties have agreed to negotiations, we were dismayed to receive notification of strike dates from Unite. The union have proceeded with their plans before giving the upcoming ACAS talks any chance to succeed.

“We remain hopeful and committed to finding a resolution. It’s not in our interests, or our passengers’ interests, to have industrial action.”

At the same time, Unite’s take on it was that ‘poverty pay’ was prolonging the dispute, citing analysis that showed bus workers in the North East were earning ‘far less than elsewhere.’ The union called for an all-out continuous strike from 28 October.

United said that the average wage for a driver at Go North East was £12.83 per hour, comparing it to drivers at Greater Manchester-based sister company Go North West where it said drivers earn £15.53 per hour, around a fifth more than those in the North East, or, as Unite put it, ‘a loss of £105 per week on a 39-hour week or £5,475 per year.’

General Secretary Sharon Graham said “It is as plain for all to see that workers at Go North East are being given a raw deal compared to their colleagues, doing the same jobs and working for the same organisation on the other side of the country in Greater Manchester.

“Meanwhile Go Ahead reaps massive profits, pays its CEO a huge salary and then pleads poverty. The sums just don’t add up. Our members aren’t asking for the moon – they just want a fair day’s pay. And Unite will be backing them every step of the way.”

By 27 October, drivers had rejected the pay deal, which Go North East called a ‘landmark offer’ which it said would have made them the best-paid bus drivers in the region. Instead, union members were set to start a 12-week strike from the following day, Saturday 28 October.

The operator said that the proposed deal would have increased hourly rates for drivers to £14.15, which for drivers working a standard week annual pay would have risen by almost £2,700, or 10.3%. Drivers who chose to work overtime stood to gain over £3,000 per year, the company said, adding that when the deal was initially announced indicative surveys showed driver opinion favoured acceptance. “However, lobbying by trade union representatives to force a ‘no’ vote proved successful,” the company added.

Director Ben Maxfield said: “We are baffled. Drivers wanted an above inflation deal, no changes to conditions and top-of-the-market rates. We responded to each and every one of those demands, which makes it hard to understand why the union would press ahead with 12-weeks of industrial action. We appealed to the union to reconsider and suspend the strike. Unfortunately, this was met with a flat refusal.”

Stressing its concern for passengers who ‘faced massive and unnecessary disruption’ the operator said it remained committed to finding a solution as swiftly as possible, and explained that during the strike period, only contracted school services would run.

’Hardship’

Defending the outcome, Unite said its members were suffering from financial hardship and struggling to make ends meet. It added that 81% of its members had voted for a strike, on a turnout of 93%, again making comparison to wages at Go North West.

Some 60% of members surveyed said they had to cut back on essentials such as food and energy, and nearly a fifth reported being forced to skip meals or not being able to pay their rent or mortgage, the union said, adding that the financial pressure was coupled with ‘nightmarish stress at work.’

The union accused Go North East of forgetting ‘its roots and the communities that built its transport empire.’ The operator meanwhile said it would maintain ‘vital services’ despite the challenges posed by the strike, adding that a number of services would run, including school contract buses in County Durham, Nexus contracted school and work services, the NHS Hopper carrying hospital staff between the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Newcastle Freeman Hospital and the bus linking Newcastle city centre to the DFDS ferry terminal.

Driving duties were being covered by office workers and managers as well as those who opted to return to work. Director Ben Maxfield said: “Our responsibility is to put the best possible offer on the table to try to prevent a strike. That is what we have done. We do not play games of brinksmanship with our passengers’ need to get to work, school or college, their ability to visit friends and family or their means of going out socially.

“Coming on the back of the 10% increase our drivers got in July last year; our offer means they will have had a 20% pay rise in just over a year.

“For the union to describe a £2,700 per year pay offer as ‘derisory’ and leaving ‘drivers on poverty pay’ is clearly unfounded given that drivers would be on track to earn nearly £30,000 annually. But sadly, we have a union intent on wide scale disruption rather than dialogue.”

Manchester misdirection

Dismissing Unite’s references to North East drivers ‘earning less’ than their counterparts in Manchester, Ben added: “We have provided to Unite a comparison of the wages and conditions package in Manchester to demonstrate the true picture. Manchester drivers work to very different conditions and once these are taken into account, our drivers in the North East region do not suffer pay inequality by comparison. Away from the media spotlight, Unite has confirmed to us that they would not want to swap their package of wages and conditions for that of Manchester or anywhere else. They want to keep their conditions as they are now. By continuing to reference Manchester, Unite is muddying the waters to justify a strike that shouldn’t be happening.”

Talks brokered by the reconciliation service ACAS in early November ended in disappointment as Unite walked out after four hours having demanded six-monthly pay increases as well as rises backdated to July 2023, and another in July 2024, plus an additional pay increase on 1 January 2024, ‘all of which must be higher than anything already on the table,’ the operator said, adding that it was continuing to work closely with local authorities and transport bodies.

Unite meanwhile said that the strike ‘could be resolved for under £250,000 but management refuse to move in negotiations.’ General secretary Sharon Graham said: “Go North East could end this dispute with the stroke of a pen with the equivalent of money they’d find down the back of a sofa. The parent company is awash with cash and yet they won’t stump up the funds it would cost them to end this dispute right now.”

Regional officer Dave Telford added: “Our members’ resolve has not waivered, and we will not back down. Unite put various proposals on the table today for the employer to accept and every time Go North East just refused to budge.”

’Plunging support’

On 9 November, Go North East reported that an independent poll showed ‘plunging support’ for the 12-week strikes from the travelling public. The online poll, which surveyed 500 residents and was conducted by polling agency Savanta, found that nearly three-quarters of north-east residents believed the 10.3% pay rise offered to drivers by Go North East is ‘fair’ or ‘very fair,’ the operator said, with 20% believing it was unfair. 30% said they strongly or somewhat support it, while 54% said they ‘strongly oppose’ or ‘somewhat oppose’ the action. Blame for the strike laid with Unite, according to 50% of respondents, while 32% blamed Go North East and 18% are unsure, Savanta found.

By 24 November, there had been no resolution, and further talks ended in a stalemate, Unite said. Regional Coordinating Officer Suzanne Reid commented: “Unite remains open and willing to enter into negotiations at any time to bring this dispute to an end.”

Near the end of the month, workers were balloted again to continue industrial action. Unite reported that it had ‘sent a delegation to Canada to meet with the public sector investment bodies who ultimately own Go North East,’ and that it had ‘written to the CEO of Globalvia, the Spanish transport company that owns a controlling stake in the business.’

Agreement reached

On 1 December, the parties reported that an agreement had been reached. Unite said it had ‘secured a significant pay award’ with a headline 11.2% pay increase for drivers, engineers and administrators, including a backdated pay rise of 10.5% from 1 July, a further 0.7 per cent rise in January, and another increase on 1 July in line with RPI and subject to a minimum increase of 4%, taking wages to £14.17 backdated to July and £14.27 from January. “The same pay award has also been secured for all engineers and administrative staff earning up to £40,000 per year,” the union added.

Unite’s National Lead Officer Onay Kasab commented: “I’m delighted our members have secured this substantial pay increase. Thanks to their tireless efforts on picket lines and at protests they have secured the pay increase they deserve.”

Go North East said it was pleased to announce that to mark the resumption of services, travel would be free on all of its buses for seven days from Saturday 2 December. ‘This week’s on us’ the operator told passengers. Director Ben Maxfield said: “We’re delighted to be resuming a full timetable of bus services from Saturday. We know that the last month has been difficult and disruptive for local communities. Free travel for a week is a gesture from us to welcome customers back on board. The strike over the last month has hit people and businesses in the pocket. I’m sorry for the inconvenience and distress that it caused. We now want to put it behind us and get back to delivering the best possible bus service for all our customers.”

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