Oldham bus drivers fight for 'value' and 'respect'

More than 40 drivers were on the picket line outside Oldham Mumps bus depot on Tuesday, July 25, in the same way they have done 10 times before.

With more strikes scheduled in August, drivers shared their stories with The Oldham Times and discussed why they are campaigning for a pay deal of £16 an hour - as well as"dignified" working conditions and "respect" from First Bus bosses.

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The first issue is that Oldham drivers are the lowest paid in the region on £13.50 an hour.

Drivers claim their "low pay" is not only insulting to their experience and long-standing service to the community, but has plunged many into financial hardship, even before the cost of living crisis kicked in.

A driver who has worked in Oldham for more than 15 years said he is having to bank even more hours to cover the bare essentials.

He said: "I work 60 hours a week on average. I have no option but to do a s*** load of overtime because I can't afford to do a flat week."

Unite the Union representatives revealed an average working week equates to £384.75 - around £10.12 per hour after tax.

Drivers said the "constant squeeze" on their pay has left them without a break, with most unable to afford their rent or mortgage, let alone a holiday.

"After paying bills, there's just nothing left", another said.

While they are fighting for £16 an hour, which Unite the Union stresses is more of a pay "protection" against hardship than a pay rise, First Bus has said it has offered a "generous" 15.2 per cent increase.

However, those on strike said the offer is "more complex" than that, and has been proposed to be staggered out in three "tiers" - April, October and January next year - and, crucially, wouldn't be backdated.

A driver said: "We might - might - have considered the offer if it was backdated.

"But why not pay us what we deserve all in one?"

Another agreed: "It's been a constant fight because they offered it in two parts initially, then the three-part deal which is worse.

"It's even more frustrating that they keep saying it's a 15.2 per cent increase when it isn't, it's small bits at a time.

"We haven't rejected it either, we rejected the little bits."

But Rob Hughes, operations director of First Manchester, said the offer is "simply" an "increase from the current rate between now and January with no strings attached" - and would mean the company has increased the pay of its drivers by 25 per cent over the past two years.

Mr Hughes said: "It makes our drivers some of the best-paid in the region and with more generous benefits than those of other operators.

"This is also to reward the huge effort that was made throughout the pandemic to keep essential journeys operating."

However, Sohail Khan, Unite the Union branch chairman, dubbed the deal "delusional" and said the company is tactfully dragging out negotiations until Stagecoach takes over in March.

Regional industrial officer, Samantha Marshall, also said First Bus is "piecemealing it out, in hope that they won't actually have to pay all of it".

Others on the picket said the company is adding insult to injury by "boasting" and "gloating" its revenue figures, which show it made £642 million in profits last year while the finance director received pay and benefits totalling £1.9 million.

Meanwhile, Unite said Diamond Bus North West is enticing new drivers to its fleet with an offer of £16 an hour as of September which the union said is "another kick in the teeth" to the experienced staff on the picket line at Mumps.

Then there's the issue of the pandemic.

While drivers received a 25p pay rise the year before Covid, they didn't receive one during the crisis and, instead, were meant to receive a one-off £500 payment.

Yet they said it was "snatched" away when they entered pay negotiations.

A driver said: "We should have got that because we were key workers and just as a thank you because we worked all the way through the pandemic.

"This is a completely separate issue to the pay deal, but they took that right from under our noses."

The pandemic undoubtedly took a huge toll on drivers, who told tales of watching "familiar faces" on the route suddenly disappear one week to then taking family members to funerals the next.

A driver said they would cry when their shift finished while another said they caught Covid four times.

"Engineers, cleaners, people who were working from home and not on the frontline, they got the money.

"But we didn't and we risked our lives every day.

"It still annoys me to this day", another driver said.

Mr Hughes confirmed drivers didn't receive the £500 payment but said this was because local union representatives "chose not to sign an agreement on behalf of Oldham drivers which was made with Unite nationally about post-pandemic arrangements".

He said other colleagues and staff did sign the agreement and therefore were paid the recovery bonus.

But beyond that, drivers also claim the poor state of the depot, from unhygienic toilets that sit next to the canteen to its roof that "fell in" from the rain, "symbolises how the company sees us".

A driver said: "They want us to be professional, but they don't pay us to be professionals.

"I could stack shelves and earn more, but I'm a qualified driver and we look after the most expensive commodity - people's lives.

"When our foot is on the pedal, we are solely in charge of 100 people.

"We're not 'just' bus drivers.

"Ask the parents whose children we take to and from school safely every day of the week - are we worth £16 an hour to you?"

Those gathered also said some of the buses are in a state of disrepair, claiming some have broken radios, which jeopardise both drivers' and customers' safety, while most lack air conditioning and heating.

Another driver said: "Incidents are getting worse and more frequent, yet we're not allowed to get out of the cab.

"So if someone is kicking the hell out of someone on the bus, we can't do anything, and then the radio doesn't work.

"We are paying the price of the company's failings and how it's skimping on things."

An employee who has worked in the depot for more than three decades said it had been "at least" 15 years since they were awarded with a new bus - and claimed the electric bus Oldham was promised was taken away.

"There is more stress in this job than ever before", he added.

However, Mr Hughes said all vehicles are serviced regularly at four-week intervals to ensure they meet legal standards, including radios which are maintained by a specialist contractor.

He also said there is an "additional device" on the bus which ensures drivers can contact the depot team at all times while First Bus has invested in CCTV, cab screens and policies which have "reduced incidents of aggressive behaviour" and kept staff safe.

Recognising that the weather does affect driving conditions, Mr Hughes said the company is allowing Unite to govern "acceptable temperatures" onboard but said First has not been informed the current arrangements are insufficient.

“There are clear channels for reporting concerns about facilities including toilets and the canteen and these have not been raised with us by union representatives", he added.

Now, First Bus bosses have been trying to 'incentivise' drivers to break the strike by offering an extra £75 per day worked.

Yet drivers said this is at odds with negotiations as the incentive would see the company fork out an extra £350 per week - compared to the £80 per week they are calling for in the pay deal.

Drivers have called the incentive "bribery" and like "blackmail" while First Bus defended the initiative, dubbing it a "temporary measure" to help "minimise disruption" and "help customers get to work, attend appointments and manage their daily lives - typical trips which the strike action is preventing people from being able to do".

But drivers are standing firm and said they just "want to be valued and respected" - and show no signs of surrendering.

"We'd rather be in work than out here so why can't they just pay us what we are worth?"

Mr Hughes added: “Continued industrial action is not the way to get this situation resolved.

"We are ready to meet with the union and representatives need to return to discussions and find a settlement.”

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