Police called as bus strikers block buses from leaving Birmingham garages

Bus drivers on picket lines in Birmingham and Coventry blocked buses from leaving garages this morning (Wednesday, March 21) - the third day of their indefinite industrial action, National Express West Midlands said.

The bus company, which operates 93% of the bus services in the region, said that the police supported them to clear the way for their skeleton service to continue through the indefinite industrial action. The strike had been suspended last week, but was confirmed on Saturday as negotiations over pay for bus drivers fell apart.

National Express West Midlands said it is committed to running every bus it possibly can during the strikes - and is currently seeking to operate a skeleton service, primarily serving the region’s major hospitals. On day one the company said it managed to get out over 90 buses serving customers all around the region.

But Unite the Union claimed that the police were called ‘unjustly’ in an attempt to harrass strikers. It added that workers are being told they will be barred from overtime in teh future due to striking and that workers who are not taking strike action have been told they will face disciplinary action if they refuse to cross a picket line.

A Unite spokesperson said: “More reports have emerged of union busting bullying at National Express after strikes by more than 3,100 bus drivers began this week, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Wednesday).

“Workers are increasingly angry over the company’s strike breaking tactics, which include unjustly calling the police to peaceful picket lines and threatening striking workers with job losses and route closures. In response, Unite today launched a freephone hotline on 0808 164 0368 for workers to report instances of intimidation in relation to the dispute.”

A National Express West Midlands spokesperson said: “We fully respect the rights of bus drivers to withdraw their labour and picket their workplace, but they should not be blocking buses from departing garages. The people of the West Midlands are being disrupted enough by these strikes, but to prevent even a skeleton service is completely unacceptable.

“We are in dialogue with the union about our offer of a 14.3% pay increase to our drivers, which, at £16.46 an hour, would take the typical driver to £33,000 a year, and our door remains open for talks.” The spokesperson added: “We want to reassure our customers we are doing all we can to resolve this issue.”

The union has previously explained that bus workers pay fell by six per cent in real terms between 2018 and 2021 - with the gap increasing even further in 2022 due to rocketing prices caused by the cost of living crisis.

Unite says National Express bus driver’s starting salary begins at £11.80 an hour, progressing to just over £14 after three years of service. Meanwhile Abellio workers in London are paid £18 an hour after two years of service, which more closely reflects the difficulties and pressures that come with the job.

The Union contrasted the pay of bus drivers with that paid to National Express, saying that - over the last 10 years - National Express paid its CEO an average annual salary of £2.6 million.

Bus users are encouraged to check thenxbus.co.uk website to confirm which services are running.