National Express West Midlands strike gets confirmed start date

The strike had been held off after a pay offer from the company but Unite the Union members of National Express West Midlands have decided to go ahead with the strike
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

More than three thousand of National Express West Midlands staff have decided in favour of strike action.

The strike had been held off after a pay offer from the company but Unite the Union members of National Express West Midlands have decided to go ahead with the strike, they said today (March 18).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The indefinite all out strike was expected to go ahead from March 16 previously. Now, it will start on Monday (March 20) and a limited service will be available.

It will primarily serve the region’s major hospitals from Monday. The bus company said: “Please do not travel on a National Express bus unless absolutely necessary.”

In a statement, the union said: “All out indefinite strike action by more than 3,100 National Express West Midland’s bus drivers will begin at 00:01 hrs on Monday 20 March.”

The workers voted by 71% against a deal put forward by the company in a ballot held over Friday and Saturday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “National Express is an extremely wealthy company and makes considerable profits from the hard work of our members, who are not paid enough for the difficult and stressful job they do. The company must come back with an offer our members can accept.

“Unite’s top priority is defending and improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and National Express’ workforce have their union’s full support during these strikes.”

A National Express bus driver’s starting salary begins at just £11.80 an hour, progressing to just over £14 after three years of service.

Unite lead national officer Onay Kasab said: “National Express have said time and again that Unite has not allowed our members a proper say on the pay deals they have put forward. The company’s arguments have now been exposed as hot air. The truth is this: National Express drivers have had enough.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Our members are clear the offer needs to improve to reflect rising prices and the incredibly hard job they do. This will also benefit West Midlands bus services as it will help solve National Express’ recruitment and retention problems.”

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.