Arriva bus drivers in Greater Manchester and across the North West are to begin strike action today over pay disputes.
Bus passengers throughout the region are being warned to expect disruption as the majority of the company’s buses will not be running starting from today (20 July), when members of the Unite and GMB unions begin striking for an “indefinite period” of time.
After staff were said to have been in negotiations with the company over pay for the past three months, 96% of union members voted for strike action, and from today, more than 1,800 Arriva workers in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Merseyside will not go to work.
Despite the three-month negotiations, and Arriva having already offered workers a pay rise of 8.5%, GMB union says this offer had “not met inflation rates”.
Arriva now wants union members to vote on this latest pay offer.
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Members of the Unite and GMB unions are striking for an “indefinite period” of time / Credit: Arriva UK
“No worker should be struggling to cover their bills, but in the face of a cost of living crisis, Arriva needs to get real on its pay offers,” said Robbie Marnell, Regional Organiser at GMB Union.
“Hopefully the company will listen and get back around the table with a fair offer.”
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Howard Farrall – Operating Director at Arriva UK’s North West & Wales Area – said strike action is “counter-productive” in response, and claims it “harms the communities and customers we serve, and damages bus travel at a time when we should all be focused on building recovery from the pandemic.”
— Arriva North West (@arrivanorthwest) July 19, 2022
He called on Unite and GMB to abandon plans for “this damaging strike” and to “ballot their members on the new offer.”
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Arriva customers with pre-paid tickets travelling in Cheshire will be able to use them on buses operated by D&G Buses, and services running out of the Chester depot, and into Chester from Wrexham and Rhyl, are unaffected and will continue to operate.
Bus services by other operators are also expected to be running as normal in Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
Emily Sergeant -
20th July 2022 
