“Christmas chaos”

Party goers and Christmas shoppers may struggle to get home thanks to Scrooge bosses, while hard working public transport staff look for some Christmas cheers from their employers

There are a number of disputes being planned over the festive season as transport staff struggle with poor pay at one of the busiest times of the year. However in some cases the Christmas spirit has shone through, and disputes have been resolved. 

In West London over 350 workers employed by London Transit bus company are to take further strike action after rejecting the company’s latest pay offer.

Drivers and other workers have already taken recent industrial action, and will now walk in the run up to Christmas, causing widespread disruption across west London with Christmas markets and festivities in full flow.

Drivers, engineers and stores workers based at the Westbourne Park depot are furious at the latest pay offer they received which included a new, lower paid starter grade for drivers.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham condemned the “appalling behaviour from a company that makes millions from London bus passengers” adding “Unite will back them all the way.”

Unite regional officer Callum Rochford said: “Our members do an incredibly difficult job – whether it’s driving buses in rush hour in London or keeping those buses operational. Yet their employer is trying to short-change them with new grades.

 “Workers won’t stand for this. London Transit need to return to the negotiating table, do what’s right and end this dispute now.”

Meanwhile in Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) workers are holding a fresh round of strike action over fair pay.

Over 200 Unite members, providing vital work including ticketing, passenger assistance and information services for the bus network, began industrial action in October after rejecting a below inflation 3.2 per cent pay rise. 

They, along with colleagues from UNISON, are demanding an increase that reflects the rising cost of living and the increased workloads they have taken on since the creation of the Bee Network.

Strikes are taking place this month that will cause disruption across the Bee bus and tram network, including the last Friday (19 December) before Christmas, a very busy night for the city’s hospitality sector, and  the busiest shopping day of the year, Saturday (20 December).

Unite regional industrial officer Sam Marshall said: “TfGM is totally responsible for the disruption that will be caused to passengers. It caused these strikes through its totally inadequate and frankly insulting pay offer.

“The offer does nothing to increase basic pay, does not match inflation, and fails to recognise the high level of responsibility and commitment shown by these workers every day.”

However a separate strike by around 320 tram drivers working for KeolisAmey Metrolink workers over driver fatigue has been averted after managers saw sense.

Rotas had meant drivers at Metrolink were working as many as six days in a row without proper rest breaks. This was leading to safety concerns around fatigue, with drivers concerned about operating heavy vehicles while exhausted.

Workers have now accepted new proposals by Metrolink that address driver fatigue. Drivers will see improvements to rotas, bringing them more in line with workers elsewhere in the country, including a reduction in driving time without a break from five and a half to five hours, the removal of six day working and the introduction of an additional two rest days. 

All drivers will also benefit from having their duty length reduced from nine and a half to nine hours.

Though the dispute was not about pay, Unite has also negotiated increased pay for drivers as Metrolink seeks to attract new staff, and retain existing workers.

Unite regional officer Colin Hayden said: “We are very pleased that Metrolink finally listened to drivers’ legitimate concerns around fatigue and came back with a plan that will go a long way to finally solving the issue and keep workers and passengers safe.

“This, plus improvements to pay, is the culmination of a lot of hard work from Unite and our reps who showed incredible solidarity throughout this dispute. This result proves again that Unite is a union winning for workers in the passenger transport sector.”

Passengers across Cambridge are also facing disruption resulting from employers’ treatment of staff as 200 Stagecoach workers strike over a reduction in overtime rates.

As one of the busiest times of the year approaches, workers are fighting a “pay deal” that will see their overtime rates fall by 12 per cent between Monday and Friday and by 20 per cent on weekends and bank holidays.

The workers, including drivers and engineers, refused to accept this cut to their pay and are striking over the Christmas period, severely impacting bus services across the city. 

Unite regional officer Mark Plumb said: “Stagecoach is entirely responsible for the disruption that will be caused to passengers. It can fully afford to maintain overtime rates but is choosing not to. Industrial action can still be avoided but that will require an acceptable offer from the company.”

The companies Unite are in dispute with hold large reserves and can afford to pay their staff a decent wage. Stagecoach made operating profits of £97.3 million in the year to April 2024 on sales of £1.6 billion, whilst holds £2.1 billion in reserves.

However some employers have finally been filled with the Christmas spirit and agreed to improve pay and conditions for hard working staff.

In Scotland First Aberdeen 300 drivers and staff at First Aberdeen recently celebrated an early pay increase, with Unite securing a new pay deal eight months ahead of schedule.

The inflation-beating wage increase of 5.3 per cent was in a one-year deal effective from December 2025 to December 2026, and lifts the drivers’ hourly wage from £14.28 per hour to £15.03 per hour.

In addition to the drivers, a separately negotiated increase was also applied to around 30 workers in administrative, clerical, and service roles for First Aberdeen.

Dougie Maguire, Unite regional coordinating officer said: “First Aberdeen drivers and staff have secured a win which significantly lifts the wages of the workforce ahead of schedule. We have been engaged in positive negotiations with First Aberdeen and this deal helps to bring drivers into line with the market rates across Scotland.”

And acrossLeicestershire strikes have been called off after Unite won an improved pay offer for bus workers. 

The 300 Leicester, Hinckley and Coalville Arriva drivers, depot and office staff voted in favour of the improved offer, which will see their pay increase by 6.5 per cent, along with a one off non-consolidated payment of £1,000 and an improvement to their bank holiday working rate.

The dispute was settled without the need for industrial action and all scheduled strike dates have now been called off.

Unite regional officer Harj Mahi said: “This win shows why those who want better wages and working lives should join Unite and organise their colleagues to join to. 

“There is power in a union.”

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By Keith Hatch