A SERIES of planned strikes by bus drivers will throw journeys into chaos across Greater Manchester.
More than 900 workers at transport company First, the majority of them drivers, will take action in a row over pay.
Four 24-hour walkouts are being planned for later this month.
Union bosses were agreeing the exact dates with lawyers on Thursday night. The strike action will hit routes across Bolton, Bury and Wigan.
A two-week ballot led to 95 per cent of members voting in favour of strike action.
A union has accused the company of double standards because workers have not received an annual pay rise despite First posting an annual profit last year of £134m.
Other strikes over a similar issue are being held across the country.
Angry
Bobby Morton, the union Unite's regional organiser, said hundreds of routes would be affected, adding: "Drivers are very, very angry. The people who make the company the profit are the employees."
First said talks to resolve the situation would continue.
The company does have depots in other areas of Greater Manchester and covers the whole region.
The dispute however centres solely on drivers in Bolton, Bury and Wigan due to the date on which they were due to receive the annual rise.
Mr Morton added: "We had a ballot for industrial action and that returned a 95 per cent vote in favour of taking strike action. Shop stewards have given us a series of dates on when they are going to take action.
"Through September there are going to be four, 24-hour stoppages. The company has launched a zero per cent pay policy on the back of them recording an annual profit of £134m.
"Usually we have an annual increase. It should have been on July 1. We attempted to negotiate an increase but they told us that there would be none."
Exact routes expected to be affected are due to be published.
No one at First was available to comment.
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Rammylad (03/09/2009 at 17:21)
petan, openshaw (03/09/2009 at 18:14)
Ged, Harpurhey (03/09/2009 at 20:49)
We have major ateries of town dug up for gas or sewer repairs all at once, building sites abandoned due to recession but roads still closed around them, Metrolink not working due to lines still being installed, Metrolink upgrades not working due to 'teething troubles', airport workers on strike, ever more bus lanes, ever more white lines and pavement widenings to narrow roads and create bottlenecks (on purpose) and now the bus drivers want to go on strike!
The place is a carnos!
All thiw when we have FIFA in town to analyse our transport system.
We need a strong leader like Rudy Guilliani who can get the city back on track and rule with an iron fist.
TonyWwW, Oldham (03/09/2009 at 21:30)
Extra passengers and extra grief with no extra pay.
njlawley, Leigh (03/09/2009 at 21:33)
Jay B, oldham (04/09/2009 at 09:15)
Giley, Bury (04/09/2009 at 09:42)
I hace to catch 6 buses a day to get to and from work all of them have to be Firstbus.
Am I the only person who has noticed that Firstbus rhymes with worse bus?
johnnyboy, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancashire (04/09/2009 at 11:01)
Black Flag (04/09/2009 at 11:19)
Because you never hear of strikes in the public sector!
"bring back regulated transport for Greater Manchester, where the travelling public can have a say."
The whole point of regulated transport is that the travelling public don't get a say. In a competitive market, the passenger pulls the strings, because if the passenger takes their custom elsewhere, the carrier suffers.
When you give control to politicians, then the politician is the most important person as far as the carrier is concerned, then the staff, who gain increased power, then the electorate as a whole. The passenger gets moved right down the pecking order.
I prefer keeping the passenger in control.
Jon, a bus driver, Failsworth (04/09/2009 at 12:03)
The First drivers have every right to be angry, the mechanics have been offered 5%, the inspectors 4% and the drivers (who make the £134m profit) 0%. Fair enough if the company had lost money but that is not the case here.
Come on people show some support for the bus driver's (for a change) and send your complaints to First.
citycentre, manchester (04/09/2009 at 12:53)
Faced with actually losing customers both the company and drivers would have a need to come to an agreement, rather than being able to abandon passengers for a day, safe in the knowledge that they have to still be there the next day.
Rachel Fiddy (04/09/2009 at 13:26)
Barney Gumball LLB Hons (04/09/2009 at 14:31)
Rachel Fiddy (04/09/2009 at 15:33)
Hindsight (04/09/2009 at 15:49)
Chris R, Irlam (04/09/2009 at 16:02)
Rachel Fiddy (04/09/2009 at 16:29)
citycentre, manchester (04/09/2009 at 16:30)
Lets think it through though (not something that happens too often here I know), each rush hour bus carries how many people?
if they are not on the bus, how many of them will be in cars?
Bury Pensioner., Bury. (04/09/2009 at 17:06)
TheophilusW, South MCR (04/09/2009 at 18:12)
"The whole point of regulated transport is that the travelling public don't get a say. In a competitive market, the passenger pulls the strings, because if the passenger takes their custom elsewhere, the carrier suffers. "
The problem with this is that deregulation of the buses in Manchester did not bring genuine competition to our streets.
Despite the fact that there are over 60 bus companies in Greater Manchester, in the main conurbation itself, First and Stagecoach dwarf every other company on all but a few routes. This wouldn't be so problematic if the two were in direct competition with each other, but they are not. They have an agreement where they have divided the city in half between them - First taking the north and Stagecoach taking the south - meaning that they don't have to adjust their prices in response to what the other does. It also means that, on most routes around the city, bus users only have a choice of one company - either First or Stagecoach. They cannot take their custom somewhere else, even if they want to.
Maybe if deregulation had brought real competition to the way buses are run in Manchester, I would be in favour of retaining the status quo, but it has not. I think re-regulation would bring improved conditions for staff (in terms of pay, and working demands), less confusion and fewer price hikes for passengers, and might finally allow for a really useful unified ticketing system that allows you to travel freely throughout the county without having to buy multiple tickets and passes.
Either way, I think a lot of people (staff and passengers) are massively unhappy with the way the buses operate at the moment, and I think a meaningful public discussion needs to be had on the issue. This has only become all the more clear in light of the other transport improvements - Metrolink extension, high speed rail, etc. - that are coming to the city.
Phil bell (05/09/2009 at 01:09)
Rammylad (05/09/2009 at 12:02)
You are of course correct to say that one should only have to look left then right etc however where buses are concerned, right lights mean go, zebra crossings with people waiting mean carry on regardless. The chap I photographed had a great look on his face at Piccadilly gardens last week. He thought I was wanting a photo of a bus driver for my holiday album, how his face changed when I pointed out I needed it for evidence due to him steaming through the zebra crossing whilst two ladies were trying to cross.
We all know it goes on, just some of us care about human life and the rest are bus drivers and politicians on the make.
Rammylad (05/09/2009 at 12:06)
Phil, you can't clamp someone for driving to work, oh hang your industry does have a jaded reputation, maybe you think it is ok to clamp someone on the way to work.
Rammylad (05/09/2009 at 12:09)
We have had a 10% pay cut this year and no pay rise so all in all ~15% paycut, fuel is still going up in price, Bury Metro put up parking from £4 to £4.50 for using the tram and food is not cheaper so all in all we have had a right kicking this year. Do we strike, no, we accept the current economic climate and get on with it. Roll on the good times, roll on some PT competition.
Black Flag (05/09/2009 at 13:29)
Having direct competition between companies on the same route (as on Wilmslow Road) is better for competition, but it isn't the be all and end all. The important thing is that there are other modes of transport available to serve as competition.
"They have an agreement where they have divided the city in half between them - First taking the north and Stagecoach taking the south"
I assume you aren't from Manchester, so you aren't aware of the history. There wasn't any agreement, it just so happened that the old GM Buses operations were split in to two halves, North and South, which were bought by First and Stagecoach respectively. The situation arose from the fact that the buses were previously under municipal ownership.
"I think re-regulation would bring improved conditions for staff (in terms of pay, and working demands)..."
Which is bad news for the passenger.
"...and might finally allow for a really useful unified ticketing system that allows you to travel freely throughout the county without having to buy multiple tickets and passes."
System One will do that for you already. There's no need to rob the passenger of control in order to do it.