Go North East slammed for using office staff to drive buses as latest pay talks fail

A trade union has labelled a decision by a North East bus company to use office staff as drivers as "at best unwise and at worse unsafe" as the latest pay talks failed.

Unite was responding to a move by Go North East to restore a skeleton service on a number of its routes using office workers and managers with bus driving licences, as well as drivers who had opted to return to work.

The skeleton service began operating on Tuesday 14 November as the latest attempt to bring the continuous bus strike over pay to a close ended in a stalemate.

Speaking of the rollout of the skeleton service, general secretary for Unite, Sharon Graham, said: “This attempt by Go North East to run a skeleton service shows a company grasping at straws as it loses more sympathy with the public every day.

“Asking office workers to operate bus services is at best unwise and at worst unsafe as the drivers will be utterly unused to undertaking the highly demanding responsibility of driving a crowded bus on congested roads.

"Unite also has concerns about the maintenance of the buses themselves given our engineer members are on strike.

“Instead of playing games and scraping barrels, Go North East should come up with a reasonable new offer our members can accept and bring this dispute to an end.”

Unite members of Go North East have been on strike since 28 October, affecting the majority of the company's services in the region.

Members of the union have previously rejected a pay rise of 10.3%, which Go North East said would have made them the best-paid drivers in the region.

Workers are angry their pay does not match that of drivers for Go North West.

Unite said talks between both sides took place earlier on Tuesday but ended with no resolution as Go North East did not increase its pay offer.

Industrial action across Go North East network will therefore continue indefinitely.

Ms Graham said: “Go North East’s utter unwillingness to improve its pay offer in the slightest shows its blatant disregard for the wellbeing of its workers and the communities they serve.

 “Go North East could end the strikes with a stroke of a pen by utilising the merest fraction of its profits but it is choosing not to do so.”

Unite regional coordinating officer Suzanne Reid added: “Unite remains open and willing to enter into negotiations at any time to bring this dispute to an end.”

A Go North East spokesperson said: "We are pleased to announce that we will be operating a skeleton service from today (14 November).

"This will run across a variety of our services between 9am and 2.30pm on weekdays. All details are available on our website.

"As per normal when covering driving work, we will use a combination of experienced, fully trained and licensed office staff alongside drivers to operate these services.

"For passengers using these buses, they can expect our usual standards and safety will not be affected.

"We appreciate the flexibility of all our staff in helping to keep these buses moving, and we remain committed to finding a sustainable resolution to Unites strike to get us back to running our full network."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...