Unite Bus Workers' Combine
Through organising and fighting the bosses in a coordinated way we are able to exert maximum pressure - get involved with Unite's bus workers' combine. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham: “This is the new direction of Unite. We will defend our members pay and conditions, however long it takes … Unite will always back its members against any employer who refuses to negotiate.”
Bus workers are at the forefront of the fight back:
- Arriva Yorkshire - won a 9% increase, more than doubling the initial offer of 4.1% after 4 weeks of strike action;
- Arriva North West members, after 29 days of all-out strike action, have won an 11.1% offer, worth an additional average of £2,300 a year, equal to an extra £55 per week.
- Bus workers at Stagecoach Guildford won a 12.57% pay rise
- Stagecoach members in Aldershot secured a 13% increase
Bus workers combine | The future
Hundreds of bus routes face cuts or closures as grants that have propped up operators in recent years come to an end. This gives a hint of the future battles to come and Unite bus workers will be ready to fight to defend their jobs just as much as their pay and conditions.
Unite bus workers’ combine | Wins just the start
The wins achieved so far are only the start. Over the next 12 months the Bus Workers’ Combine will build on this by coordinating pay negotiations and our disputes - not just at regional levels - but across entire companies to drive up pay and conditions.
Stewards working together through the combine to secure pay rises in line with the cost of living and collective agreements on acceptable working temperatures are what will improve the pay and conditions of bus workers.