Union Unite has claimed a “huge victory” after it and Go-Ahead Group agreed a deal that has ended 82 days of strike action among drivers at the Go North West depot at Queens Road in Manchester.
The unspecified negotiated settlement has been accepted “overwhelmingly” by Unite members. It follows talks between senior figures at Go-Ahead and Unite that involved the union’s General Secretary Len McCluskey.
Mr McCluskey says: “This is a tremendous victory by Unite’s members at Go North West, who through their dedication, solidarity and commitment have defeated the attempt to fire and rehire them. I pay tribute to them, sustaining a strike during the challenge of lockdown, and thank this incredible community for their brilliant support through these long weeks which definitely helped to keep heads held high.”
Unite adds that Go-Ahead has agreed to its demand “that it will never use ‘fire and rehire’ in any form.” Unite’s claims of ‘fire and rehire’ have been at the heart of the dispute. The union adds that drivers at Queens Road “no longer stand to lose thousands of pounds in wages each year.”
Claims of such financial losses for drivers through Go North West’s Reset 2020 proposals, which aim to transition the depot out of its current position of losing £1.8m per annum, have always been fiercely denied by the operator. It has repeatedly said that drivers would be no worse off under its reform plans.
Go North West has welcomed the end of the industrial action. Managing Director Nigel Featham says that the “positive outcome” for the business, its employees and its stakeholders will allow the introduction of revised working practices under a new collective agreement.
Those changes will provide “a solid foundation on which to build a sustainable future for the depot,” Mr Featham adds.
A spokesperson for the operator could not say whether the settlement will see an end to what it had previously called “outdated working practices.” In a stakeholder update issued in September 2020, Go North West said that those customs include payments for hand-winding destination blinds and the opportunity for mileage to be dropped to enable drivers to finish work on time.
In February, the operator added that unless changes to working practices at Queens Road were adopted, there was a serious risk to the depot’s future. Since the strike began, vehicles and drivers from other operators have been hired to maintain service levels. The spokesperson did not state whether the use of those resources will end immediately.
The strike at Queens Road, which began on 28 February, was the longest in the history of Unite and, the union says, the longest in recent history for the passenger transport sector. Go-Ahead purchased the depot from First Bus in 2019 for £11.2m.
