North East Buses

(06 Nov 2023, 4:21 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]All that Commerical success 

I did email nexus, no reply obviously.
Have any drivers jumped to other operators?

Unite are fairly active on social media which suggests today's talks when along the lines of

Unite: We'd like a payrise and no T&C amends. We'd take a one year deal.

Ben: But the nurses!!!!! Dan, Dan, Daaaaan, get the powerpoint press release ready!

(06 Nov 2023, 4:54 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]Unite are fairly active on social media which suggests today's talks when along the lines of

Unite: We'd like a payrise and no T&C amends. We'd take a one year deal.

Ben: But the nurses!!!!! Dan, Dan, Daaaaan, get the powerpoint press release ready!

Yep no further forward, Going by Nigels attitude he's not interested in the slightest.

Loving having to get 3 buses to my mothers atm

Sunderland College have arranged 4 buses or coaches to get students to the GCSE November resits no mention of how they getting home after the exam.

I only know this because I study there.

(06 Nov 2023, 6:16 pm)Ds1197 wrote [ -> ]Sunderland College have arranged 4 buses or coaches to get students to the GCSE November resits no mention of how they getting home after the exam.

I only know this because I study there.

The situation is total and utter arse

From reading around apparently the next talks now won't be until January..

(06 Nov 2023, 6:25 pm)Iamtheone8483748 wrote [ -> ]From reading around apparently the next talks now won't be until January..

I've been shown something and it appears nigel said "are Unite ready to cave in". That's just absolutely pathetic now. He and manged really don't care anymore it seems

(06 Nov 2023, 6:28 pm)Aaron21 wrote [ -> ]I've been shown something and it appears nigel said "are Unite ready to cave in". That's just absolutely pathetic now. He and manged really don't care anymore it seems

He's never cared, all he cares about is the "Bee Network"

(06 Nov 2023, 6:35 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]He's never cared, all he cares about is the "Bee Network"

Exactly. Seems that Ben cares about is his ego and to say to people "blame Unite not us. We care about our drivers. We're not slagging them off behind there backs and blaming Unite. It's your fault"

When it reality its Ben throwing his toys out the pram

Go North East bosses dismayed as Unite ‘talks walkout’ creates misery for passengers
Today Mon 6th Nov 2023

Talks held today, brokered by the reconciliation service ACAS, aimed at resolving the Go North East driver pay dispute that has been ongoing for weeks ended in huge disappointment as Unite staged a walkout after four hours.

Unite demanded pay rises every six months in return for calling off their strike before refusing to continue talks. The stunt dashes hopes that unions were willing to reach a deal to end the strike and restore bus services.

Go North East sought a dialogue on proposals, but negotiations ended after four hours when Unite representatives walked out.

Go North East business director, Ben Maxfield said, “Today, Unite demanded six monthly pay increases: as well as rises backdated to July 2023, and another in July 2024, Unite are now insisting on an additional pay increase on 1 January 2024. All increases they say, must be higher than anything already on the table.
“Passengers are facing unacceptable levels of hardship. But instead of a constructive dialogue all we get from the local Unite representatives is a set of moving goal posts, escalating demands, and a succession of U-turns.”

Ben Maxfield added, “We persuaded ACAS to became involved in talks weeks ago and even they have struggled to keep Unite at the negotiating table. I think that says it all.

“This dispute, this strike, is entirely of Unite’s making. All we want is for the local union representatives to work constructively and collaboratively with us to secure a resolution.

“New demands for six-monthly pay rises will only add to mounting anger within the workforce, and from the public, over Unite’s handling of negotiations. It is impossible to negotiate with a union hell bent on disruption rather than dialogue.”

The company’s offer of a 10.3% pay increase would make the drivers the best-paid in the region. For drivers working a standard week annual pay would rise by almost £2,700 yearly, with an hourly rate of £14.15. Drivers who chose to work overtime stand to gain over £3,000 per year. Drivers who choose to work a 41-hour week will earn £30,000 per year.

Ben Maxfield said, “Coming on the back of the 10% increase our drivers received in July last year, our offer means they will have had a 20% pay rise in just over a year.

“Unite had been hanging their hat on references to North East drivers ‘earning less’ than their counterparts in Manchester. However, Manchester drivers work to far more flexible scheduling rules. Unite confirmed to us today that they would not want to swap their package of wages and conditions for that of Manchester or anywhere else. They want to keep their conditions as they are now.”

https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/go-north-e...passengers

The Unite response

https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-event...rove-offer

Go North East talks break down after employer refuses to improve offer

Strike could be resolved for under £250,000 pounds but management refuse to move in negotiations

Bus strikes in the North East of England are set to continue after further talks with Go North East broke down this afternoon (Mon 6 Nov), Unite can reveal.

Unite officials suggested multiple ways of ending the strikes with a variety of financial packages for workers but each was met with refusal by Go North East management. Unite have calculated that the dispute could be resolved for approximately £238,000 - less than the pay for two Go North East directors, but the employer has refused to budge.

The difference between what the employer has previously offered and what Unite has asked for means that Go North East can end the strike with just 0.28 per cent of the annual profits of the Go Ahead bus group.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Go North East could end this dispute with the stroke of a pen with the equivalent of money they’d find down the back of a sofa. The parent company is awash with cash and yet they won’t stump up the funds it would cost them to end this dispute right now.

“Go North East should be ashamed of its own stubbornness and how it is treating our members and the communities that built its transport empire.”

Unite regional officer Dave Telford added: “Our members’ resolve has not waivered, and we will not back down. Unite put various proposals on the table today for the employer to accept and every time Go North East just refused to budge.

“There is only one party currently wishing to negotiate and that’s Unite. I urge Go North East to put its hands in its pocket and come up with the money that it will cost them to end this dispute – pocket change for a company making £85million in profits.”

Featham and Maxfield are a pair of


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There making Unite out to be worse. There throwing everything in now its not to wonder Unite talks keep falling. They simply do not give a s%%t. Its pathetic how bad Ben & Nigel are handling this. Nigel won't accept to make them like Manchester cause that means he would have to manged big companies which it seems he doesn't want to do

Nigel is sitting there stroking his own ego and thinking its Unite the problem not him. Same with Ben sitting there litral stroking his ego and pen using possible Chat GPT to come up with ways to describe Unite. Calling them unacceptable and saying its all there fault when they won't bring a deal to the table

If gne can afford repaints constantly and buying buses then they can afford to pay the driver. Will they of course not. I mean come on. Strikes on going and 6155 is now a GNW training advert bus. It's pathetic. This company is going to fail and then let's see them defend themselves.

Imagine Imagine the press release and statement if gne fell through and collapsed. Ben would use every swear word invented and become the new Donald trump by making new words to say how FLABBERGASTED he is that Unite didn't agree to him calling every name under the sun.

(06 Nov 2023, 7:11 pm)Iamtheone8483748 wrote [ -> ]Go North East bosses dismayed as Unite ‘talks walkout’ creates misery for passengers
Today Mon 6th Nov 2023

Talks held today, brokered by the reconciliation service ACAS, aimed at resolving the Go North East driver pay dispute that has been ongoing for weeks ended in huge disappointment as Unite staged a walkout after four hours.

Unite demanded pay rises every six months in return for calling off their strike before refusing to continue talks. The stunt dashes hopes that unions were willing to reach a deal to end the strike and restore bus services.

Go North East sought a dialogue on proposals, but negotiations ended after four hours when Unite representatives walked out.

Go North East business director, Ben Maxfield said, “Today, Unite demanded six monthly pay increases: as well as rises backdated to July 2023, and another in July 2024, Unite are now insisting on an additional pay increase on 1 January 2024. All increases they say, must be higher than anything already on the table.
“Passengers are facing unacceptable levels of hardship. But instead of a constructive dialogue all we get from the local Unite representatives is a set of moving goal posts, escalating demands, and a succession of U-turns.”

Ben Maxfield added, “We persuaded ACAS to became involved in talks weeks ago and even they have struggled to keep Unite at the negotiating table. I think that says it all.

“This dispute, this strike, is entirely of Unite’s making. All we want is for the local union representatives to work constructively and collaboratively with us to secure a resolution.

“New demands for six-monthly pay rises will only add to mounting anger within the workforce, and from the public, over Unite’s handling of negotiations. It is impossible to negotiate with a union hell bent on disruption rather than dialogue.”

The company’s offer of a 10.3% pay increase would make the drivers the best-paid in the region. For drivers working a standard week annual pay would rise by almost £2,700 yearly, with an hourly rate of £14.15. Drivers who chose to work overtime stand to gain over £3,000 per year. Drivers who choose to work a 41-hour week will earn £30,000 per year.

Ben Maxfield said, “Coming on the back of the 10% increase our drivers received in July last year, our offer means they will have had a 20% pay rise in just over a year.

“Unite had been hanging their hat on references to North East drivers ‘earning less’ than their counterparts in Manchester. However, Manchester drivers work to far more flexible scheduling rules. Unite confirmed to us today that they would not want to swap their package of wages and conditions for that of Manchester or anywhere else. They want to keep their conditions as they are now.”

https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/go-north-e...passengers

I've just read this in parallel with the Unite statement. 

What a stark contrast in language used alone. Go North East seem insistent on waging down this road of a culture war between them and the Union representing it's workers. Maxfield's language is inflammatory and down-right insulting. To suggest "This dispute, this strike, is entirely of Unite’s making." is an outrageous claim. You'd never have a dispute without a bad employer. 

They're also hanging on to this productivity nonsense about Go North East versus Go North West. Why do these companies think that better pay can only be achieved, if you're willing to sell your soul to the company? I wonder what Christian gave up for his £8,333 a month relocation payment, before he gave his notice? My bet is nothing, as when it comes to cost-cutting, it's always the people at the bottom that seem to be the problem.

Unite's statement on the other hand is straight to the point and publicly suggests a way out, which I'd say is contrary to GNE have put out. They claim that "We persuaded ACAS to became involved in talks weeks ago and even they have struggled to keep Unite at the negotiating table. I think that says it all.". IMO that's a bit misleading and it's really not how ACAS conciliation services work. See here: https://www.acas.org.uk/collective-conciliation

From my own experiences of having been through this process (on a TU side), both the employer and TU negotiating teams will be held in separate meeting rooms. There'll also be a third, which is used and chaired by the conciliator (from ACAS). The TU side will normally put on the table what they think it'd take to resolve the dispute. The employer side will make a counter proposal, and it'll go back and forth for a bit until there's something close. During this time, you'll keep meeting in the joint room and going back to your own room to discuss as a negotiating team. So whilst you can 'walk out' of the process, in practice, it'd only happen at the point which the other side are either not being serious or they're point blank refusing to even come close the the settlement point.

Maybe Nigel and Ben's tactics are to try and turn the public on their own employees. If they're not going to have enough bad blood in the depot with strike breakers, maybe they think the next best thing is to create the maximum amount of hostility all-round? Way to go, when you're already in an industry with rock-bottom morale and one you already struggle to get people to work for you...

If I was still a driver there I’d be waiting for my back pay whenever it came handing in my 1 week notice and going to another operator. Lots of other unreported incidents on the picket lines which show how much disdain and childish pettiness, management are willing to stoop too, and other more serious disproportionate reactions which I hope the individuals affected follow up and progress to the relevant authorities to the full extent.

Now I might be naive but am I the only one reading this as.

Lower deal now backdated to July, end the strikes immediately and everyone starts driving again.
New additional Jan' 24 wage increase only (not every 6 months) to sort out the differences, instead of the strike action. No doubt Arriva Northumbria will be done by this to add fuel on the fire.
July '24 back to normal.

Both articles, are suggesting this, bar one has twisted it to the extreme and the other has put it under a number of packages.

Both sides are as bad as each other. They will ultimately get what they deserve. Nothing!

(06 Nov 2023, 7:11 pm)Iamtheone8483748 wrote [ -> ]Ben Maxfield added, “We persuaded ACAS to became involved in talks weeks ago and even they have struggled to keep Unite at the negotiating table. I think that says it all.

“This dispute, this strike, is entirely of Unite’s making. All we want is for the local union representatives to work constructively and collaboratively with us to secure a resolution.

Focusing on these two bits:

• Isn't part of the function of ACAS to help mediate strike talks, I hardly think they would have had to be "persuaded" them to become involve? 
  
• It, by the nature of strike action, is not entirely of Unite's making. The GNE staff voted for this overwhelmingly (twice!), and regardless of the feasibility of the conditions offered GNE *could* end this at any time by giving them what is asked for. 
  

The statements strike me as wanting to gaslight the public and paint GNE as some angelic company. Obviously the truth is somewhere in the middle, but the communications on all of this have been unlike anything I've seen from any company that respects itself, their employees, and their customers.

GNW had to wait 85 days, also a pay deal every 6 months is a bit far considering this would be the 1st one ever..

GNE are going to lose more than £238K through this. People have made other ways/lifts theyll just stick to them all the contracts...digging a hole