As a new pay deal for bus drivers is voted down Go North East announced that strike action will continue indefinitely. The strike means that only scholar services will be running for 12 weeks unless a deal is agreed. We look at the stone and how it will impact those across the North East.
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00:00 Members of Unite the Union at Go North East voted to go on strike over pay.
00:07 At the start it was two separate weeks of strike action which saw only scholar buses being driven.
00:13 Go North East then gave a new pay offer to those who work for the service.
00:17 The hourly rate for drivers would increase to £14.15 making it around a 10% jump in pay.
00:24 However, union members rejected the latest offer and said that members are only being paid up to 20% less than their counterparts working for Go North West in Manchester.
00:35 In a statement the union said,
00:46 We have drivers pushed to the brink of tiredness working all hours God sends and skipping meals to make ends meet.
00:53 Yet their employer shows nothing but callous disregard for their wellbeing.
00:57 Go North East then released a statement surrounding the strike action.
01:01 We are baffled. Drivers wanted an above inflation deal, no changes to conditions and top of the market rates.
01:08 We responded to each and every one of those demands which makes it hard to understand why the union would press ahead with 12 weeks of industrial action.
01:16 This has become a strike entirely of the union's own making.
01:20 Go North East also said that they appealed to the union to reconsider the strike but it was met with a refusal.
01:27 Now drivers will strike indefinitely unless a pay deal can be agreed upon.
01:32 This means there will be no Go North East bus services across the region apart from scholar services.
01:38 So obviously a lot of people will be affected by the Go North East strikes and has caused a lot of disruption.
01:45 A lot of people have taken to social media to say that they have to pay a lot for taxis at the moment to get to and from work because there is no buses.
01:53 So we reached out to a few people on social media just to get their thoughts on the Go North East strikes.
01:58 Anna Smiskell said, "I will be affected by a Go North East bus strike. I'm a graduate and just started my apprenticeship in Washington and unfortunately bus is the only option to get there.
02:09 We had two one-week strikes. It is more than enough. And 12 more weeks of this sounds absolutely ridiculous."
02:17 We also got a message on Twitter or X from John Yoakam. He said, "I work permanent nights, a very demanding role.
02:26 I now face having my sleep disrupted because I will have to take my wife to medical appointments and other commitments when otherwise she would be happy to hop on the bus because I need my sleep.
02:37 Some things I've got to give though. Places like Washington completely rely on Go North East. There are no other public transport providers. Maybe that needs to change."
02:47 As union members continue to strike, there will be no Go North East bus services running for at least 12 weeks.
02:54 But we will have to see if a deal can be agreed upon by Go North East and Unite the Union.
03:00 Union.
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