A new wave of industrial action in British transport and services begins this weekend as Merseyside bus workers go on strike, while further action is expected on the rail network and threatened at airports and post offices.
The strike by Stagecoach drivers and other bus workers on Monday comes after Arriva bus drivers in West Yorkshire agreed to end strikes after a month of action and as talks continue to avert more national rail strikes.
Around 370 Unite members at Stagecoach in Merseyside are due to strike for eight days in July, while voting for another 1,800 Arriva bus workers in North West England ends on Monday, alongside pay disputes.
Unite warned there would be major upheaval but said there was “deep-seated anger” among members over low pay. Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Stagecoach makes money hand over fist. Our members are making it abundantly clear that they will no longer accept being underpaid by this rich company.
Stagecoach said it had made an offer which would make its drivers, who are striking on July 4, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 28 and 29, the highest paid on Merseyside.
Since the vote by Arriva drivers in the North West, Graham said the operator had failed to make a “realistic offer”, with RPI inflation now at 11.1%.
The company has now made an offer of improved pay in West Yorkshire, where services will resume on Saturday after a four-week strike that brought buses to a standstill on most routes in the region.
Meanwhile, drivers for Great Anglia will stage a second 24-hour strike on Saturday, halting more than 90% of services on the network. Only limited trains will run from Norwich, Colchester and Stansted Airports to London Liverpool Street.
Members of the Aslef union have so far barely taken part in the RMT’s wider rail strike action, which stopped much of rail transport across Britain for a week at the end of June, although drivers at many operators were voted into strike action.
Talks are continuing between Network Rail, train operators and unions on issues including job reform, although no breakthrough has been reported.
Tim Shoveler, Network Rail’s lead negotiator, said there had been “constructive meetings” throughout the week and he was “cautiously optimistic”. He told the BBC that Network Rail was still aiming to make the planned 1,800 job cuts through voluntary redundancies and “negotiations give me hope to think that is achievable”.
TSSA union members at Avanti West Coast voted to strike on Wednesday as the union continues to vote Network Rail managers on strike action.
Labor shortages and inflation increased industrial unrest in other sectors. Unite said there had been discussions with British Airways after 500 Heathrow check-in staff voted to strike over pay. Wages were cut by 10% during the pandemic, and while BA has offered an equivalent bonus payment for this year, the union is demanding back pay.
Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said: “This has never been about a pay rise – it’s simply about restoring these workers’ wages to their pre-pandemic levels.”
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A survival survey commissioned by the union said 73% of the public believed BA should restore pay, which was slashed after the airline “fired and rehired” its staff when flights were grounded for months due to Covid.
Meanwhile, further strikes have been announced this month affecting post office collections and cash deliveries. The Communications Workers’ Union announced on Friday that supply chain workers and administrators would walk out on July 14, three days after 1,500 employees at the Post Office’s Crown branches staged a 24-hour strike.
The CWU said it was in response to a 3% pay offer following a pay freeze last year. Assistant Secretary Andy Fury said: “Everyone knows that the only solution is a fair pay rise which properly rewards members for their outstanding efforts in serving the public and delivering a profitable postal service, while taking into account the extremely high cost of living. “
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