Positive talks

Bus drivers and engineers at Brighton & Hove and Crawley have welcomed the firm’s ‘fresh look’ at its management style.

Bus drivers and engineers at Brighton and Hove Buses and its subsidiary Metrobus in Crawley, members of Unite have suspended industrial action for further talks with management.

“We are very pleased at the responsibility the company has taken in addressing the issues we raised in relation to its hardline management attitude,” Unite regional officer Janet Henney said. “We are keen to work with them to resolve these matters for our members.

“Further meetings are scheduled to take place. Industrial action has been suspended to allow us to measure whether the company is genuinely committed to addressing these issues,” she added.

“We hope to reach an amicable resolution if the company continues to work constructively in this way.”

Martin Harris, managing director of Brighton & Hove Buses, said in a statement that the talks taking place between Brighton & Hove Buses and Unite “have been positive, constructive and conducted by both sides in a spirit of conciliation and open-mindedness.”

“These frank and helpful discussions have allowed me to see the issues in a fresh light,” he noted.

Unite members had voted by 71.4 per cent in favour of strike action with 83.3 per cent backing industrial action short of a strike.

Once heralded as a model employer, matters deteriorated at Brighton and Hove buses after the introduction of a new management team following the retirement of the previous managing director.

@ShaunSearsNoble