Go North East bus firm accuses Unite union of U-turn on pay deal

Striking Go North East workers at the firm's Consett base

A union has denied that it U-turned on a pay deal with a bus firm amid the beginning of almost "continuous" strikes until Christmas.

Go North East bus staff have begun a week-long strike and union Unite said further action would begin on 28 October over pay and conditions.

The bus firm said it was "deeply disappointed" and accused the union of going back on a deal it had suggested.

However, Unite said 10% was not good enough and workers needed a 13.4% rise.

Unite Regional Officer Steve Cason said Go North East had "got its maths wrong".

He said: "At the end of the day our people do a professional job and 10% doesn't cut the mustard."

He said the current of rate of £12.38 an hour was not good enough for workers who do a "fantastic job".

He said a 13.4% pay rise would take the hourly rate to £14.50 and management needed to "come to the table and deliver for these workers".

"Our workers have decided that until they can get a decent pay to live on, that it's not worth working for that type of money," he added.

Bus driver Lynn Doolan said workers "cannot afford to live"

Go North East staff, including drivers, engineers, maintenance workers and depot crews at the firm's bases at Gateshead, Hexham and Consett walked out earlier following a previous week of industrial action , which started on 30 September.

Bus driver Lynn Doolan said making ends meet was getting tougher.

"I've been a driver for 19 years now, it used to be a lovely job, but now you've got no life, work balance," she said.

"We haven't enough money to live on, we are having to do this to give management a shove to do something."

She said she only earned £350 a week and her fuel bill was more than £220 a month.

Unite Regional Officer Steve Cason said the 10% pay offer didn't "cut the mustard"

The dispute is also over working conditions, with the union saying Go North East wanted to strip away existing conditions by reducing paid meal breaks and the paid time to travel between depots.

Go North East said the union had itself put forward the 10% offer, asking for it to be backdated to 1 July along with a guarantee of an "inflation-proofed" pay rise in eight months time.

Go North East said workers had agreed to proposals then "announced a sudden U-turn"

Unite also asked that the discussion of conditions be separated from pay, the bus firm said.

But having agreed to those proposals, Go North East said the union then "announced a sudden U-turn".

Business Director Ben Maxfield said the firm's workforce was "beside itself with worry" and accused the union of "moving goal posts, U-turns and knee-jerk reactions" with no consideration for travellers