UK: Claim of strike “victory” at Go North West unravels as Unite refuses to disclose its rotten deal
Almost two weeks after the Unite union told 400 striking bus drivers at Go North West in Manchester that they had secured a victory against the imposition of savage attacks through a “fire and rehire” contract, the rotten deal negotiated is being kept secret.
On Friday April 30, bottles of sparkling wine were handed round by pickets at the Queens Road depot in Cheetham Hill to celebrate after officials said the threat of fire and rehire was being “taken off the table” barely a week before the May 8 deadline to dismiss anyone refusing to accept a £2,500 pay cut and an inferior sick pay scheme.
An indication of the rotten deal being discussed is the fact that Unite previously offered £1.3 million pounds worth of cuts during arbitration talks with the company in March.
PUBLIC transport bosses have dropped a “fire-and-rehire” attack on 400 Manchester bus workers, a May Day rally in support of the strikers was told today.
The nine-week strike action against public transport giant Go Ahead will continue until the strikers vote on a new deal proposed by bosses, the strikers’ union representative from Unite told the rally.
Hundreds of trade unionists and campaigners marched from Manchester city centre to the strikers’ picket line and rally two miles away despite pouring rain and bitter cold.
Unite branch secretary Colin Hayden told the rally after the march: “Today marks the start of the 10th week of our industrial action against fire and rehire. Our members decided they will not stand for the industrial terrorism of fire and rehire.
By Ögmundur Jónsson April 19, 2021
MANCHESTER, England Determined to win further support for their fight, hundreds of striking bus drivers at Go North West and their supporters gathered at the Queen’s Road depot in north Manchester April 3 to mark five weeks on the picket line.
Joined by trade unionists and others, the drivers rallied nearby before marching through the area. A caravan of two dozen cars came from the south of the city decked out in Unite union flags.
“Day 35 of the strike. Look around you,” Colin Hayden, Unite union branch chairman, told the crowd. “We’re solid. Our members are solid. We are out and we are staying out.”
UK: Unite online meeting for Go North West strikers promotes cost cutting and alliance with Johnson government
Unite the union has once again used an online meeting, supposedly organised to rally support for over 400 Manchester bus workers on strike against fire and rehire contracts at Go North West, to champion its efforts to end the dispute based on a proposal for at least £1.3 million in cuts.
Unite s advert for the Facebook event, “Manchester Bus Strike: End Fire and Rehire
The April 7 “Unite Politics” Facebook event, “Manchester Bus Strike: End Fire and Rehire,” was an occasion for empty rhetoric and platitudes, aimed at hoodwinking Unite members into believing Go North West, its parent company Go Ahead, and Boris Johnson’s Conservative government could be persuaded to mend their ways.