National Express Birmingham bus strike ends - what happens next?

Bus drivers at National Express West Midlands have voted in favour of the latest pay deal bringing an end to the bus strike from tomorrow (Sunday, March 26).

The positive result concludes the pay dispute between National Express West Midlands and Unite which launched an indefinite on Monday (March 20). National Express said there will be a reduced service on Sunday and as close to normal as possible on Monday.

A spokesperson for National Express West Midlands said: “We are pleased that the drivers have voted in favour of accepting the offer. We apologise to our customers and the communities we serve for the significant disruption and inconvenience this has caused over the last few weeks. We are pleased to be able to put this behind us and focus on delivering a bus service that customers can rely on.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is an important win for Unite members. By standing together our members at National Express secured an above inflation pay offer.

“Unite will leave no stone unturned to defend workers’ pay. This is yet another example of how Unite’s relentless focus on improving jobs, pay and conditions results in real ‘money in the pockets’ of our members.”

Details of the latest timetables and routes are being updated regularly on the National Express West Midlands website www.nxbus.co.uk.

The update follows a new offer that National Express made to Unite the Union on Thursday as thousands of bus users faced chaos unbeing unable to get to work, school or run essential errands. National Express runs 93% of the bus services in Birmingham and the West Midlands. More than 3,100 bus drivers walked out.

A skeleton serivce to hospitals was in operation, but subject to delays and cancellations. The police were called as strikers blocked buses from leaving garages in Birmingham and Coventry on Wednesday. And Mayor Andy Street issued an urgent plea for a resultion to the strike to end.

National Express had previously offered a 14.3% pay increase, along with increases to Christmas Eve pay, New Year’s Day pay and accident pay. That offer was rejected by drivers in a ballot and led to strikes.

The new offer sees a 16.2% pay increase, formalising existing interim overtime rates, increasing Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day pay and accident pay. Unite the Union has been contacted for a comment.

More than 200 National Express engineers voted last week to accept a separate pay deal. Unite also ensured that around 250 admin staff were also included in that deal. Unite lead national officer Onay Kasab said: “We congratulate every one of our members for making this stand and winning. Unite will continue to work, through our Bus Combine, to win double digit pay increases for our members.”