Regional MD claims that seven-day strike action by drivers is ‘over something that was already offered’
Arriva Durham County responded angrily to claims made by union Unite that its drivers are the second-worst paid in the group’s UK bus operation ahead of a week-long strike at Darlington, Durham, Redcar, Stockton and Whitby depots.
The action by around 650 drivers started at 0001hrs on Sunday (6 January). It came after Arriva’s latest offer was rejected “by a large majority,” the union says.
Two-year offer
Arriva offered a 75p hourly increase over two years and backdated to March 2018. The union wants a £1 per hour rise over a one-year period, citing “pay inequality” in comparison to other parts of Arriva’s business.
In what the operator calls “an unprecedented move,” Arriva released a wage comparison chart for the north-east’s major bus operators ahead of the strike, demonstrating that the offer would “consolidate drivers’ position as being among the highest-paid in the region.”
Arriva says that of over 20 depots, a higher equivalent hourly rate is received at only two when the value of Durham County’s paid meal breaks is factored in. That is worth the equivalent of £1 per hour, it claims.
Under the rejected offer, drivers on the highest rate would receive £10.60 per hour, representing a rise of 7.6% over two years from March 2018. The proposal also reduced to three years the length of service required to reach the top rate. It guaranteed a further increase in March 2020 equivalent to £1 per hour.
‘No justification’
“Unite claims, with no justification, that [Durham County] drivers are poorly paid relative to others. That is a false flag and one that has led to unnecessary industrial action,” says Arriva North East and Yorkshire Regional MD Nigel Featham. “They are striking for something that they have already been offered.”
Arriva is running a fare-free “contingency service” during the strike. Go North East is operating an enhanced level of provision on a number of its routes.
