Misery for commuters as bus drivers strike

Strike by First Bus Drivers at Oldham Wallshaw Street Depot

MAJOR disruptions hit Oldham commuters yesterday as more than 700 bus drivers went on strike across Greater Manchester.

First Manchester brought managers in from across the region to drive buses and each and every one was heckled by those on strike as they drove in or out of Oldham's Wallshaw Street bus depot.

The bus drivers well and truly made their point as their striking action caused around 50 services across Greater Manchester to be cancelled or reduced ­- there was an increase in cars on the roads and reported overcrowding on the Metrolink.

Around six bus services in Oldham were cancelled while others were significantly reduced.

Unite, which represents 700 members working out of the Oldham and Queens Road depots, accused First Manchester of pushing through changes to conditions without negotiation.

Unite regional officer Neil Clarke said: "There's about seven or eight issues that have been articulated. They range from non-payment of certain elements of pay, to not honouring holidays, to changes in the way drivers' time is calculated, the way people are treated in general in terms of procedure.

"There's one main problem and all the other issues emanate from that problem ­- the problem is the approach that the senior management team are adopting towards the management of employee relations and the treatment of staff.

"There are two breaches of the 2012 wage agreement. One relates to payments not being made to certain staff which should've been made.

"We have a collective bargaining agreement.

"This dispute affects Queens Road in Cheetham Hill and Oldham, those two depots make up a collective bargaining unit. 12 months ago they started to change drivers' conditions but only at Oldham. It breaches a collective bargaining agreement."

First Manchester says the walkouts are "unnecessary and unjustified" and asked for Unite to cause the strike off.

But Mr Clarke accused First Manchester of being "in denial", adding: "As soon as the workforce responds, the management are thrown into confusion. They thought they could continue to breach agreements and eternallyget away with it."

One of the Oldham bus drivers on strike, Arnie Gray, said: "Management are taking it upon themselves to break long-standing agreements; pay agreements, attacking the long-serving people that have been here by breaking a pay agreement which the flexible retirees should be getting. I could go on ­- they're breaking agreement after agreement."