Striking Go North East staff to stage 'noisy protest' Gateshead depot

Unite the union has announced drivers, engineers and administrative staff will be protesting, alongside union leaders, at the firm's Gateshead depot about the "poor pay and conditions" they are subject to.

Unite says drivers at Go North East are some of the poorest paid in the country earning just £12.83 per hour for a "safety-critical, highly skilled and highly stressful job". 

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon has weighed in saying the bus company, whose routes have been paralysed by the indefinite strike, should be slapped with financial punishments.

In a fiery tirade aimed at Go North East bosses, He branded the industrial dispute that has crippled much of the region’s public transport network “an absolute disgrace”.

A Go North East said it is doing everything possible to resolve the dispute. 

The company says a new independent public survey has found that the overwhelming majority of the travelling public oppose the strike and hold Unite responsible for the stoppage.

Ben Maxfield, business director, Go North East, said: “The public are sick and tired of this strike, which has left people unable to get to work, to school, to hospital appointments or simply to go for a day out.

"People cannot understand why Unite would call an all-out stoppage over a 10.3% pay rise which would make its members the highest paid bus drivers in the North East.

“It is high time for the union to get back to the table and to hold constructive discussions, rather than shifting the goalposts, staging walkouts and playing havoc with bus passengers’ everyday lives.”

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon (Image: Transport North Eas)

A Unite survey says it has found that drivers are having to work dangerously long hours to make ends meet, are struggling to pay bills and some are even reliant on food banks.

A "shocking 81 per cent also report being either physically or verbally abused at work".

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The Go Ahead Group is swimming in money and pays its executives huge salaries. Yet it’s displaying heartless behaviour to the workers who generate its profits and the community that built its empire.

“Our members are taking to the streets to voice their anger and they have the full backing of Unite in their fight for better pay and conditions.”

Unite regional coordinating officer Suzanne Reid added: “Our members are demonstrating because they are so angry at how they are being treated by Go North East management.

“Go North East could end this dispute tomorrow with a decent pay offer but are needlessly dragging its feet every step of the way. Tomorrow they will witness the strength of the union as we take to the streets in full force.”

Meanwhile, Go North East released details of an independent survey by polling experts Savanta which found "the travelling public overwhelmingly oppose a 12-week strike by Go North East bus drivers and hold Unite responsible for the stoppage".

A study found that nearly three-quarters of North East residents believe the 10.3% pay rise offered to drivers by Go North East is "fair’"

The offer would "make Go North East drivers the highest-paid in the region.

The survey found most respondents have far more sympathy for the passengers left high and dry than with striking drivers.

Under the pay offer on the table, drivers working a minimum working week would receive £14.15 per hour, worth £2,700 per year.

Those working 41 hours a week would be paid an extra £3,000, resulting in annual pay of over £30,000.

The poll comes just days after Unite walked out of talks brokered by the arbitration service ACAS.

At the short-lived talks on Monday, the union "ripped up" its previous pay request and put new demands on the table, two weeks into the continuous strike.

Go North East says, the union’s new demands include pay rises every 6 months. Unite walked out of talks when this was knocked back.

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Key findings from the survey include:

•  73% of the public believe a 10.3% pay rise tabled by Unite is ‘very fair’ or ‘somewhat fair’, while 20% believe it is unfair.

Asked their view of the Go North East strike, just 30% said they strongly or somewhat support it, while 54% said they ‘strongly oppose’ or ‘somewhat oppose’ Unite’s action.

•  In terms of sympathy, 63% sympathise most with members of the public impacted by the 12-week strike, while 8% say their sympathies lie with drivers.
•  Blame for the strike lies with Unite according to 50% of respondents, while 32% blame Go North East and 18% are unsure.

Chris Hopkins, Savanta’s Head of Politics, said: “Generally speaking, the public support the right to strike, and earlier this year we saw widespread popular support for public-sector strikes, particularly among healthcare professionals, but also among transport staff.

“However, in this localised poll we see the opposite, where a majority of people in the North East say the pay offer on the table is fair and are therefore more likely to side with the public impacted by the strike, rather than the workers themselves.”

Savanta’s online poll was of 500 residents of North East. Fieldwork was carried out between November 3 and 6.