Cardiff bus strikers, September 2015 (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Great support for Cardiff bus strike
“No more lies – give us a rise”
Dave Reid and Caerphilly Socialist Party members
Hundreds of Cardiff bus drivers converged on Cardiff city centre on 2 September and 5 September in an impressive show of strength as the bus network ground to a virtual halt.
The drivers have taken action after weeks of fruitless negotiations with management at council-owned Cardiff Bus. They have submitted a 4% pay claim after years of below inflation deals and management has responded with a 3% offer with strings attached, nothing like the 5% reported in the media. A further 2% would not be paid until the end of 2016.
And this after years of low rises. In 2012 there was no pay rise; in 2013 the managing director got a £10,000 rise while drivers got below-inflation 2%; and in 2014 there were 70 redundancies.
Cardiff bus strikers, September 2015 (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)
Marching through the centre of Cardiff with Unite banners streaming behind them, they sang and chanted, their mood high. Strikers are especially angry at the untruths being reported about them – their chants included football-style: “No more lies, give us a rise!”
Rugby crowds seemed happy to do without their buses on a match day. One vendor selling Welsh rugby scarves continuously applauded the march until the last striker had passed.
“There’s no way as your elected representatives”, Unite branch Secretary Paul O’Hara told the rally, “that we are going to give away terms and conditions that took years to win. It was like being mugged yesterday! They told us that management are only having 2% rise, but 2% for them is £3,000. For us it’s pennies!”
Strikers clapped and shouted. They made it clear that they are going to take the fight to victory.
This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 8 September 2015 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.
