Members of the RMT union working on buses across Somerset are going on strike over pay for four days from next Monday (October 10th).
An RMT spokesperson says the strikes, which are over pay and conditions, will be held on October 10th and 21st, plus November 4th and 11th.
The spokesperson says: “Workers who are planning to take action are furious that many of them are only paid just over £11 an hour and that bosses only offered a small uprate to £12 an hour. This is despite the fact First Group paid out £500million to shareholders in 2021/22 and has an operating profit of £226million.”
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, adds: “Our members have no choice but to take strike action following an insulting and paltry pay offer. First Group is swimming in money and could easily pay bus workers a decent rise that goes some way to dealing with the escalating cost of living crisis.”
“The public in Cornwall and Somerset who our members faithfully serve need a service that pays workers properly, so they do not leave the industry, creating chronic bus shortages. We are determined to win for our members, and we urge First Group to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.”
Simon Goff, Managing Director for First South West, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We can confirm that 227 RMT members out of our staff of 650 operating Buses of Somerset and Cornwall by Kernow routes have voted to take industrial action, after rejecting a pay offer of 8.6% from September 2022 followed by a further 8.3% from April 2023.”
“We are hugely disappointed and frustrated that, despite extensive talks and this significant pay offer in the current climate, we have not been able to reach an amicable conclusion to discussions. Whether they come to work or not on Monday, we recognise and value the great work that all our staff do, especially their contributions to communities during the pandemic.”
“We want to support our staff in the ongoing cost of living crisis, and we believe our offer does this whilst seeking to protect jobs.”
“Bus operations across the UK have been severely impacted by the pandemic. The business has been struck by a change in travel patterns both during and after the COVID pandemic and although the number of people using our services is slowly increasing, it is still much lower than pre-COVID. Customer numbers across the bus industry in England are down 25 per cent on pre-COVID times.”
“We respect the rights of colleagues to take action, but in order to allow the business to recover from the pandemic, we need to work together, keep the wheels turning and make sure people can go about their daily lives without disruption.”
“I would like to apologise sincerely to all our customers for the inconvenience this will cause. We are doing everything possible to operate what services we can.”
