Go North East strike: Unite members to protest in London over pay dispute

Unite members will travel to London in a bid to force a breakthrough in their dispute with Go North East. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Unite members will protest in London in a bid to force a breakthrough in their dispute with Go North East.

A total of 1,300 Union members at the company have been on a continuous strike since 28 October over pay and working conditions.

Much of the bus network has ground to a halt as a result with a skeleton service operating on some routes.

Go North East have said their pay offer would make their drivers the best paid in the region.

Unite members will now protest at the UK Bus Awards and outside the Govia offices on Tuesday 28 November before moving on to the London Transport Museum and Go-Ahead HQ on Wednesday as they attempt to resolve the dispute.

Go North East has been operating a skeleton service during the strike action. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Go North East have had every chance to resolve this dispute and could do so with the stroke of a pen and just a tiny percentage of their annual profits.

"Yet they continue to pay poverty wages to workers in the North East, treating them as cheap labour while paying inflation-busting six-figure salaries to their Chief Executive.

“Unite’s new leverage campaign is going to bring the protests and the dispute to the doorstep of Go Ahead, their directors, their suppliers, their customers and the politicians and communities in which they operate.”

ITV Tyne Tees understands further talks have taken place today but there has been no update on the outcome of those.

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