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First Bus: pay dispute goes on
Over 110 drivers from First Hampshire and Dorset Ltd in Weymouth and Bridport took strike action for five days at the end of July in an ongoing dispute on pay.
It was the sixth week of the dispute. Unite continues to wait to hear if management will agree to meet with the conciliation service Acas.
The company’s latest pay offer produced no improvement, just the same 2.3 per cent over two years, which has been on the table for the last eight months.
“This is not acceptable given that our drivers in Weymouth and Bridport are the lowest paid in First Group across the whole of England,” said Unite regional officer Bob Lanning.
Unite is calling for the company to address the very unfair wage disparity. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn offered his support to the drivers which Unite welcomed.
The strike action comes against a backdrop of pending disputes with First Bus across the UK, including in Glasgow, Bradford, Doncaster, Halifax, Huddersfield, Rotherham, Sheffield and York – caused by bosses’ “bullish attitude” towards wage talks.
DURHAM MINERS’ GALA Find outmore HERE Solidarity celebrated
Unite joined hundreds of thousands of trade unionists and supporters at the 132nd Durham Miners’ Gala on July 16. This year’s event was the highest attended in 60 years, with estimates of up to 200,000 joining in from around the world.
Unite’s contingent, the largest group at the event, was accompanied by the union’s very own brass band, in a march that flooded the streets of Durham city and ended at the Racecourse grounds. Distinguished speakers including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady addressed the crowds in an unforgettable celebration of solidarity.
EQUALITIES Find outmore HERE Stop EHRC cuts call
A campaign to stop cuts to the equality and human rights commission (EHRC) has been launched by Unite and PCS.
Last autumn the Tories announced the EHRC’s budget will be slashed by 25 per cent over the next four years, hindering the organisation’s work holding the government to account on equality and human rights.
The commission, which advises public services like the police on stopping racism and supports victims of work discrimination, has already suffered a 69 per cent drop in funding since 2010.
Unite national officer Siobhan Endeanwarned that further attacks on the commission would cost jobs and render it “unable to stand up for justice and equality.”
“The impact will be felt widely by victims of discrimination or human rights abuses who don’t qualify for legal aid, can’t afford tribunal fees, or aren’t a member of a trade union.”
Unite is calling for no compulsory redundancies, increased employee protections, extra training for EHRC staff to decrease outsourcing and the enhancement and protection of frontline services.
8 uniteWORKS Summer 2016
Mark Pinder
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