Bus passengers in the Burnham-On-Sea area face more disruption with strikes planned for today (Friday, November 18th) and Monday (November 21st).
Buses of Somerset managing director Simon Goff has warned there will be disruption to services on both days, blaming the RMT for not putting the company’s “improved” pay offer to its members.
But the RMT has hit back, claiming the bus company boss has not taken part in “meaningful” face to face meetings.
In a statement ahead of today’s industrial action, Mr Goff said: ““We are disappointed that the RMT have taken the decision to continue with yet more industrial action on Friday and Monday.”
“This will mean that there will be disruption to many of our Buses of Somerset and Cornwall by Kernow services.”
“Customers should go to our website and social media feeds for the latest information on which services will be running.”
“We would like to apologise for the disruption that our customers may experience during the strikes. We have improved our offer because we want to resolve this dispute.”
“The offer is a great deal for our staff, worth 17.6 per cent over the next two years, and this follows increases to pay throughout the pandemic.”
“We are disappointed that RMT are not prepared to put the improved offer to the members, denying them the chance to have their say.”
“We are not proposing pay cuts or pay freezes or any changes to roles. The pandemic has had an impact on our business and travel patterns have changed. So far, we have yet to recover our pre-Covid patronage.”
“Despite this, and in recognition of the cost of living crisis, we are still prepared to put this great offer to our staff. The door remains very much open for the RMT to meet with us to find a settlement.”
“It is very clear that the vast majority of our staff want to accept this deal and move on but this will be challenging if the RMT continue to refuse to ballot their members on this great offer.”
Barry West, the RMT regional organiser, has previously stated he is willing to attempt to “strike a deal and find a compromise”.
“Never ever since the last day’s dispute has there been any meeting and meaningful discussion with the negotiating committee.”
“Mr Goff hasn’t met the negotiators. Negotiating should be on an equal footing. It’s not.”
Mr West claims the pay offer offer on the table equates to 5.8 per cent.
“There’s no element of back pay in the offer,” says Mr West. “The current offer is to increase pay from December 4, which equates to a 5.8 per cent rise for the year from April 2022.”
“However, if this is backdated to September 4 for the year, I calculate it would equate to 10.5 per cent, which is a much more realistic and reasonable proposition for those on the breadline.”
“Mr Goff has also informed us there will be no offer unless we agree to his preconditions.”
