{"id":7012,"date":"2015-12-03T16:42:36","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T16:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=7012"},"modified":"2015-12-03T16:42:36","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T16:42:36","slug":"shifting-the-goal-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=7012","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Shifting the goal posts\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>Over 200 Arriva bus drivers in the Medway towns, Kent will be on strike tomorrow (December 4) and Monday (December 7) over the introduction of unachievable timetables, which Unite has warned is making it impossible to deliver a safe reliable service.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nSignificant disruption is expected to bus routes serving the Medway towns of Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Rochester, Hoo Peninsula and Strood, following a breakdown in last ditch talks and a continued refusal by Arriva to address a number of concerns, including driver fatigue and poor service resulting from the timetable changes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nAccording to Unite, the timetable changes have resulted in unrealistic running times on routes. Drivers are also being kept at the wheel for five and a half hours at a time with as little as four minutes \u00e2\u20ac\u0098recovery\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 time and limited access to toilet facilities.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nConcerns over the new timetables were raised in June this year leading to assurances from management that a solution would be found by September 2015.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nWith the deadline passing and further changes to timetables worsening the situation, drivers have grown increasingly frustrated with Arriva, which they accuse of continually \u00e2\u20ac\u0098shifting the goalposts.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nFriday and Monday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strike action runs from 5am to 5am on the following day.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nUnite regional officer Dave Weeks said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bArriva has continually moved the goal posts over these timetable changes which make it impossible for drivers to deliver a reliable and safe service.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bStrike action is not a step our members take lightly,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey pride themselves on the service they provide to the travelling public, but it is a service which is being undermined by recent changes.<br \/>\nWeeks went on to say that that the blame for any disruption lies \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfairly and squarely at Arriva management\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s door\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have continually raised major concerns about the changes which are leading to drivers being behind the wheel for excessive periods without even the time for a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098comfort\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 break,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe would urge Arriva to get back around the negotiating table and seriously address the concerns of Medway Arriva bus drivers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 200 Arriva bus drivers in the Medway towns, Kent will be on strike tomorrow (December 4) and Monday (December 7) over the introduction of unachievable timetables, which Unite has warned is making it impossible to deliver a safe reliable service. &nbsp; Significant disruption is expected to bus routes serving the Medway towns of Chatham, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[211],"wps_subtitle":"Bus drivers to strike over timetable changes","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7013,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012\/revisions\/7013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}