Stagecoach workers were met with shouts of “scab” from a picket line in Liverpool as the company was accused of trying to undermine the strike in the city.
Today is the first day of action for around 500 Liverpool bus drivers who went on strike outside the company’s Gillmoss depot on the East Lancashire Road.
Unite union members are demanding a pay rise that is more in line with the hourly rate of other operators in the region, but Stagecoach said it had submitted an offer that was significantly closer to those rates while maintaining more favourable working conditions and benefits than other operators.
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As the strike began this morning, the union accused Stagecoach of “undermining” the action of its members by using managers based elsewhere in the country to come to Liverpool and drive buses.
Video footage from the picket line at Gilmoss this morning shows several buses leaving the depot and being met with angry shouts of “strikebreakers” and other expressions from the strikers. The video also shows Merseyside Police temporarily blocking the road to allow the buses to leave the depot.
Brian Troake, Unite’s regional representative, said: “At around 5am this morning several buses full of Stagecoach managers arrived from across the country who were here to undermine and break through the picket lines.”
“Stagecoach has been pouring money into this and putting people in hotels instead of focusing on sitting down with staff and solving the problem.”
He added: “When the buses came out this morning they were escorted by police as the East Lancs Road was closed to allow them to exit, which was disappointing.”
“Our members are exercising their democratic right to walk out of work and instead of respecting that, Stagecoach is going the other way.”
Mr Toake added that he was convinced that the people of Liverpool “know what’s going on” and had chosen not to use the buses that broke the strike.
He added: “We have seen a number of these buses travelling on the roads almost empty. We believe word has got around and the good people of Liverpool are boycotting them.”
Responding to the union’s demands, Matt Davies, managing director of Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire, said: “Stagecoach today operates a limited special service staffed by volunteer managers and supervisors.”
“Our service is focused on those areas that would otherwise have no bus service and we also operate a shuttle service to Anfield Stadium in response to requests from the police and Liverpool City Region to prioritise this service for public safety reasons. We respect the right to take industrial action but we also need to provide the best possible service to our communities.
“We deeply regret that industrial action is taking place, are open to a resolution of this dispute and are always available for discussions. We genuinely want to resolve the dispute but the overall cost of a pay increase must be affordable for the depot. We have informed Unite of a number of ways in which we could resolve the dispute. This will require action from both parties and we are prepared to do this.”
Today was the first of what could be several days of strike action at Stagecoach in Liverpool. Drivers will also strike tomorrow (Tuesday).
If no agreement is reached after these two days of action, the union intends to step up the initiative next month and announce further work stoppages between July 5 and 8 and between July 12 and 15. The union says this will escalate into a full-scale permanent strike if no agreement is reached.
Commenting on Merseyside Police’s response, Superintendent Matthew Moscrop said: “Officers were on the East Lancs Road today directing traffic around Gillmoss Depot.
“Officers are monitoring the site to ensure the safety of the wider road network and to minimise disruption to road users.”
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