Bus crews resume strike action over pay

Published on Tuesday 18 August 2009 09:08

BUS workers in Aberdeen will today take strike action after pay talks with management collapsed.

Services in the region will be hit by a two-hour walkout at 3pm, after the Unite union failed to agree a new pay and conditions deal for workers employed by First Aberdeen.

The stoppages were planned following a 24-hour strike in mid-July, but were suspended to give the company time to hold talks with union representatives.

Staff, including drivers, cleaners and garage staff, also refused to work overtime during the industrial action.

Staff wanted a 4% pay rise and a package of benefits including three extra days of holiday and medical cover.

But after talks between the parties, held under the aegis of independent negotiators ACAS, the Unite Union said last night strike action would be resumed.

Bus services were hit by "continuous action short of strikes" from 3am this morning, with discontinuous strike action beginning at 3pm until 5pm, Unite said.

In a letter to Bob Dorr, managing director of First in Aberdeen, Unite regional organiser Tommy Campbell said: "Our members were very disappointed to hear that the company had rejected our proposals which we would have been happy to put to a ballot had the company agreed to be reasonable and put some new money on the table.

"We are still able to put a package to our members should First Aberdeen Ltd reconsider their decision to hold the First UK Group line of zero pay increases and instead invest in their staff by continuing to improve their quality of life by increasing their wages which in this case would have only been a few percent and would not have even put a small dent in the companies' massive profits."

But Terry Mellor, GMB senior organiser, said "progress had been made" during the talks.

First in Aberdeen criticised Unite for workers for timing their strike with the first day of the new school term.

Bob Dorr, managing director for First in Aberdeen called the strike "a deliberate and manipulative ploy".

"We had made significant progress in our discussions with a deal on the table that would have kept costs the same, increased take home pay for staff, improved efficiency within the business and introduced improved shift patterns, greater flexibility and extended time off for staff thanks to the four-day working week," he said.

"We believe that would have been accepted by our staff if this had been presented to them in a meaningful way by the union.

"However, out of the blue, we were presented with a set of fresh demands that don't seem to have come from any of the local members at all and then told that strike action was back on – and on the first day of school too, hitting kids across the city.

"This is completely unnecessary when we have given the union two pay deal options to consider – the fully-funded pay award and the 'no change' position.

"We are happy to sit down with the union at any time at its convenience to discuss how we can bring this matter to an end and I call upon the local trade union officials to finish off the job we had so nearly completed.

"Further industrial action is the last thing anyone wants – it inconveniences passengers and costs staff their wages. We need to get this resolved here in Aberdeen now."