Fair pay deal call

Some bus drivers in Nottingham and Derbyshire have had to resort to food banks to augment their low wages and a series of strikes are now planned in protest at poverty pay.

Unite said that 160 drivers working for Trentbarton, part of the Wellglade Group, are planning a day of strike action next Monday (September 10) after rejecting a 2.5 per cent pay offer for the year April 2018 – April 2019.

Unite called on the management to negotiate in a positive way as further strikes are planned for  September 17 and 24 and into October and November, after the workers had voted by 70 per cent for strike action.

Unite said that the firm had muddied the waters by including the statutory one per cent auto-enrolment pension contribution in the offer  to make it appear that the offer is 3.5 per cent, when the union said that the auto-enrolment  issue should be decoupled from annual pay.

The same pay offer to 450 Unite members at another subsidiary, Trent Motor Traction Company, was also overwhelmingly rejected and this could trigger an industrial action ballot.

“We are calling on the management to get around the table and negotiate in a constructive fashion to achieve a fair pay deal for our members,” said Unite regional officer Scott Lennon.

“Our 160 drivers working from depots at Nottingham, Mansfield and Heanor in Derbyshire voted by 70 per cent to strike next Monday (September 10) and on other dates in the autumn over pay,” he added.

“This dispute could well escalate as fellow workers at Trent Motor Traction Company have also rejected this dismal pay offer.

“I appreciate that this industrial action will cause problems for the travelling public, but our members’ wages are lagging behind as the cost of living soars,” he went on to say.

“The drivers have seen reductions in their shifts and potential earning capacity cut drastically,” Lennon noted.  “Our members are living hand to mouth and some are even having to use food banks, which is a disgrace for a dedicated workforce in 2018.

“We have been informed of at least five cases of our members who have had to resort to food banks to augment their poverty pay.

“The management have also muddied the waters by adding in their one per cent auto-enrolment pension contribution to make the pay offer look much more attractive than it actually is. Our members would also contribute two per cent of their pay towards auto-enrolment.

“We believe that pay and pensions should be decoupled as they are different issues – one refers to present day pay and the other towards retirement income.”

The Wellglade Group is a transport group operating bus services in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire, and the Nottingham Express Transit tram system in Nottingham.