National Express strike back on as accusations fly

Strike action was due to take place on Thursday, but was called off to allow members to vote on a pay offer

National Express drivers in the West Midlands are to go on strike on Monday.

The Unite union, which suspended action earlier in the week to allow members to vote on a new pay offer, took the decision after accusing the company of refusing to allow a workplace ballot.

National Express West Midlands said Unite was guilty of an "outrageous and calculating misrepresentation of what has happened".

It said drivers should be allowed a confidential ballot instead.

Unite members have previously voted in favour of strike action in the dispute over pay.

The union said it wanted the vote on the latest pay offer to take place in meetings at depots, although it said it was "likely to be rejected because it ties workers into a three-year pay deal".

It called this "an attack on union democracy".

Unite also said it was asked by National Express to endorse the deal, which it refused.

It said the company then demanded it remain neutral when the ballot was held.

Instead, Unite has recommended members reject the deal because it has "more strings attached than a grand piano".

'Scared of democracy'

National Express responded to say it had been calling for a vote on the pay offer for some time, but added: "We want our drivers to have a chance to make up their own minds on our improved offer."

It said had made it a three-year deal to add certainty, at Unite's request, while also including a promise to reopen negotiations if inflation rose beyond a set level in the future.

The company said the "real victims" of the strike would be people in the West Midlands who have their lives disrupted, and accused the union of being "scared of democracy".

It added: "We believe in a democratic process and support a confidential ballot."

The Unite union said it took the decision to hold workplace ballots at the request of members to "speed up the process".

Workplace ballots on industrial action are no longer legal, but the union said ballots on pay offers were not covered by that legislation and were still possible.

Some 3,100 staff are due to take part in the industrial action, which the union said would affect 93% of the West Midlands bus network.