Go North East bus strike 'feels like Covid lockdown again'

Linda Storey said she has not been able to attend a bereavement support group

People have described the impact of the continuing Go North East bus strike as "worse than the pandemic".

Some passengers have told the BBC they have felt isolated since the strikes began in October, and have likened being cut off to another lockdown.

However, a Tyneside MP has said she believed most people support the bus drivers, despite the disruption.

The Unite union has previously said its members did not want to strike but had been "forced" into it amid a pay row.

Further talks to try to end the dispute on Thursday failed to reach a resolution.

Go North East started a skeleton service on some routes last week, with Unite describing the company as "grasping at straws".

The continuous walkout started on 28 October after workers rejected a 10.3% pay rise offer, arguing that drivers in the North West are paid more than them. It followed two separate weeks of action earlier in the month.

In its announcement of the skeleton service, Go North East said it was "committed" to reaching a solution that will bring industrial action to a halt.

'Cut off from my family'

Linda Storey, 71, from Dunston, Gateshead, has told the BBC her mental health has been impacted because she has not been able to attend a bereavement support group since the strike began.

She has urged bus drivers to "get back to work asap".

"I'm an out-and-about person. I don't like being on my own," said Mrs Storey, who lost her husband four years ago.

"I feel depressed again. I'm very down. I cry a lot.

"This is worse for me than the pandemic was," she added.

Donna Thomas says people have struggled to reach the community centre in Houghton-le-Spring

The Old Rectory Community Centre in Houghton-le-Spring provides a warm space and a range of support for the local community.

But the usually busy room has been left empty as people struggle to make their way to the centre. Go North East is the only bus operator serving the town, near Sunderland, and there are no Metro links.

"We've been told it's down to the strike," said Donna Thomas, who works at the centre.

"The first week or so we had people walking from Easington Lane, we had people walking from East Rainton, to meet up with friends and us.

"But nobody could continue to walk an hour here and an hour back to access what we offer."

Ms Thomas said she worries about those in the community who are dealing with isolation or a lack of food and support and the possible impact on mental health.

"I'm being told it is worse than Covid," she said, of the strikes' impact.

"People feel as though this is another lockdown."

Sarah Robson says her partner was unable to get to two job interviews because of the strike

Sarah Robson has faced a two-hour round trip on foot to get her shopping done.

"My partner had two job interviews in this strike and he couldn't even get to them," the mum added.

"I'm usually at my mum's nearly every weekend and now I can't.

"It's just horrible, feels like Covid all over again, but worse."

'A good deal'

Speaking to BBC's Politics North, South Shields Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck said it was "not fair" that drivers in the North West are being paid more than drivers in the North East.

"Obviously people are frustrated; people can't get to work, can't get to school," she said.

"But I think most people, when you drill down and chat to them, they'll say well of course, on a principle of fairness, the drivers on our buses here in the North East deserve the same pay as they do in the North West."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham at a Go North East rally in Dunston, Gateshead

Conservative Northumberland councillor Wayne Daley said he believed the offer "to most people would sound like really good deal."

"There is a really good opportunity here for people to sit round the table and actually look at the future public transport," he added.

"The government, by scrapping HS2, are putting more money locally into public transport and quite rightly too."

Unite's regional officer Mark Sanderson has previously apologised to passengers "sincerely and genuinely" for the disruption caused by continuing industrial action, which the union has said could go on indefinitely.

"Our members don't want to do this. They love what they're doing, they want to get back to work, but unfortunately they have been forced into this," he added.

BBC Politics North (North East and Cumbria) is broadcast at 10:00 GMT on Sunday on BBC One, and available afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.