Greater Manchester is facing grinding to a standstill next month as workers on the city’s tram system, Metrolink, begin balloting for strike action due to a miserly pay offer.
Over 600 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, are angry after Metrolink was only prepared to make a pay offer of a 4.5 per cent increase in 2024 despite years of below-inflation pay increases. Unite members want guarantees of above-inflation rises over the next three years due to accepting less than inflation (RPI) last year and a reduction in the pay progression scales within the drivers and customer service roles.
Members’ include drivers, controllers, engineers, customer service representatives, and business support – without their vital, highly-skilled and safety critical jobs, the Metrolink could not function bringing Greater Manchester to a halt.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
“It’s reprehensible how companies worth billions like Keolis and Amey can value their workers so poorly while lining the pockets of their shareholders. Transport for Greater Manchester and the mayor need to set them straight and tell them to pay our members a decent wage for their vital work in keeping Manchester on the move.
“Unite’s commitment to protecting the jobs, pay and conditions of its members is absolute and our Metrolink workers will have the union’s total support throughout this dispute.”
Metrolink is owned by a joint venture of Keolis-Amey and runs the contract on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester. Keolis is a French transport company with billions of euros in revenue while Amey is British private engineering company, also with over a billion pounds in revenue a year.
The ballot opens on 24 June 2024 and closes 8 July 2024. Strike action could take place before the end of next month.
Unite regional officer Colin Hayden added:
“This is a dispute entirely the making of Metrolink and their parent companies. They can easily afford to pay our members a decent salary after years of real terms pay cuts.
“Our members have had enough and will now be balloting on industrial action. I would encourage Metrolink to urgently come back to the negotiating table with an offer our members can accept.”
