Bus drivers in Doncaster are employed by First held a successful one
day strike on Friday 10th June in pursuit of the pay claim to bring
their pay in line with First’s Leeds drivers who presently receive £10 per hour. Currently the starting rate for drivers in South Yorkshire
is £7.05 rising to £9.13 for senior drivers who have driven for more
than 18 months. First who made a national profit of £122 million in
2008/9 had offered 2.95% which the drivers rejected in a UNITE ballot
by 605 to 178. Firsts pitiful offer and their refusal to even negotiate
on issues such the introduction of an overtime rate for drivers who
presently receive only a flat rate no matter how many hours they work
on staggered 9 and a half hour shifts that start at 4:30am and don’t
finish until 1:20 am or the right of drivers to retire at 60 instead of
65 without loss of benefits has forced a series of one day strikes that
will seriously disrupt the travelling public.
Unemployment
in South Yorkshire has risen 13% in the last 3 months as the crisis of
capitalism has started to bite, causing a slump in passenger numbers
but many bus drivers earning a breadline £7.05 per hour feel that being
asked to link their pay increase to a rise in productivity is just
outrageous, asking why they should be force to accept potential job
losses and possible future pay cuts to maintain Firsts abundant
profitability at the expense of local commuters.
The Ledger Way
picket line mood was very upbeat with passing motorists honking their
horns and waving in support as 3 dozen pickets enjoyed a delicious 4:30
am breakfast barbeque. The example of the success of the recent Lindsey
Oil Refinery dispute was fresh in the minds of many drivers who had
followed it closely and are attempting to emulate all its successful
features, especially a well organised picket in Doncaster and regular
mobile phone contact and personal visits by pickets between depots to
update everyone on developments, such as the only crossing of the
picket line, at Doncaster by a junior manager at 7:30 am.
Increasingly
it’s becoming clear to many workers that they are being forced to pay
for the failure of the capitalist system to provide secure jobs with
decent living standards. Maintaining staffing levels and incomes, never
mind a modest increase which would only bring the pay of all bus
drivers in Yorkshire up to the same level requires a fight, Bus drivers
in Doncaster are fighting to win.
