Staff threatened with dismissal on spurious grounds. Safety of drivers and passengers in danger.

Out-of-control management at a bus company in the North East of England has forced over 1,000 workers to be consulted on next steps, including the possibility of strike action, the Unite union announced today.

Drivers and engineers at Go North East, based in depots across Tyneside, Northumberland and County Durham, have been forced to the brink by a dangerous management culture that has seen drivers threatened with dismissal, suspended and sent home from work when health and safety issues are raised.

Workers have been forced to resign, and management has imposed what one worker described as a “dictatorship” with “my way or the highway” style practices. Go North East has created a culture of fear to discourage members raising genuine safety concerns on behalf of passengers and drivers.

Such behaviours are widely seen by union members as retribution by management after workers won a well-deserved pay rise after a bitter industrial battle in 2023.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Go North East has a track record of appalling management practices but it has plumbed new depths with this latest reign of terror that has seen workers, including union reps, forced to sign paperwork under threats of dismissal.

“We have members who have been threatened with dismissal or forced to resign due to such Dickensian working practices and despite attempts by our reps and officers to find a way forward, such a vindictive approach to the workforce has left little choice but to consult with our membership on next steps.”

Last month, seven members of staff who had raised concerns over health and safety procedures were sent home from work and six were then given final written warnings. Two felt under such pressure that they had no choice but to resign. Two were union reps and were instantly “de-recognised” from their elected workplace roles.

Upon returning to work this week, one raised additional concerns over passenger safety after CCTV on his double decker bus was discovered to not be working. After returning to the depot and asking for a replacement vehicle he was sent home and now faces possible dismissal.

Workers are now being consulted and surveyed over all the ongoing issues at the depots. Potential strike action would see bus services in the area grounded for the second time in as many years. Go North East is already struggling to maintain services due to a shortage of engineers and because higher-standard buses are being sent to the Go North West sister-company who recently won a franchise in Manchester.

Unite regional officer Dave Telford added: “Once again, communities are being betrayed by Go North East. Our members live and work in this area and the working conditions they now face are so unreasonable they are considering strike action. Passengers are being put in danger by this approach to safety.

“Deciding to de-recognise our reps is an act of absurd cowardice. Imagine if unions refused to deal with managers who they didn’t like.

“This is a dispute of Go North East’s own making, in petty revenge for the workers getting a decent pay deal. And it will have to answer to the pensioners, the parents and the business owners who will be let down when the buses stop running.”