Today, thousands of passengers across the Midlands who use the bus as a form of public transport have faced travel chaos due to a big strike.
Many workers, school pupils and public were left wondering how they would reach their destinations.
Most services were not running, sparking a ‘do not travel’ warning and the strike is likely to continue tomorrow unless a deal is reached. The strike went ahead after Unite union members at National Express voted to reject a pay deal.
Services serving major hospitals will be in operation. National Express urged people not to try to travel on its buses unless they “really need to”.
Drivers rejected the ‘improved offer’ of a 14.3 per cent pay increase, along with increases to Christmas and New Year’s pay and accident pay. NX West Midlands said the package would have brought an experienced driver salary up to nearly £33,000 and unlocked more than £900 of back pay for a full-time driver.
However, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “National Express is an extremely wealthy company and makes considerable profits from the hard work of our members, who are not paid enough for the difficult and stressful job they do. The company must come back with an offer our members can accept.”
