Brighton bus drivers ballot to strike

[Postman Pat]

BRIGHTON bus drivers are to be balloted on whether to go on strike.

The Unite union wrote to members at Brighton and Hove Bus Company saying: "Members approach us every day saying they are fed up to the back teeth of being pestered to do overtime, and made to feel as though they are letting the team down when they refuse.

“Yet because of management's own short sightedness and mismanagement, members can’t take lieu days they have rightfully accrued because of staff shortages.

“The company is quite happy to harass and harangue drivers to do overtime, whether they are at work or even at home, and leaving messages on their phones and texting while driving. Calling sick members to ask when they will be returning to work rather than showing genuine concern for sick employees.”

Martin Harris, the managing director of Brighton and Hove Buses, said: “We are and have been discussing a number of internal allegations with the Unite trade union representatives."
----------------------

Being opportunistic given the current mess on the trains?

 

[JCL666]

Aren't both part of the Go Ahead group?

 

[Guinness Boy]

Aren't both part of the Go Ahead group?

Sounds like a disturbingly similar business model.

 

[studio150]

This has been ongoing for sometime with a known shortage of drivers on all routes. It seems to be standard management practice in the transport industry to run services with as few drivers as possible leaving shortages when drivers dont wish to work overtime or are sick.

At least there is no issue with conductors having gone to omo buses decades ago.

 

[surrey jim]

Aren't both part of the Go Ahead group?

Southern Railways parent company is GoVia and Brighton and Hove Busses is Go Ahead

No idea what the relationship is between GoVia and Go Ahead

 

[Ernest]

Southern Railways parent company is GoVia and Brighton and Hove Busses is Go Ahead

No idea what the relationship is between GoVia and Go Ahead

Same parent company

 

[BensGrandad]

Where is the next Maggie to make strikes illegal and benefit the nation not just a few union men.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

Where is the next Maggie to make strikes illegal and benefit the nation not just a few union men.

I genuinely can't tell if you're serious or not. Worryingly I think you probably are.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I know one or two of the drivers. The way they are being treated is appalling.

 

[bhachris]

Is this serious? Asking people to do overtime and phoning up people off sick to see when they are returning are grounds to strike? The drivers should try working where I do and they would really have something to complain about.

 

[pastafarian]

“Yet because of management's own short sightedness and mismanagement, members can’t take lieu days they have rightfully accrued because of staff shortages.

not belittling their grievances but there is a worrying trend here.

the buses are short of staff
recently the trains were short of staff for the play offs

why do they have such problems recruiting people? whats the start up pay for bus and train drivers? what do you get after 20 or 30 years......is it so crap they cant attract people into the proffesion

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Where is the next Maggie to make strikes illegal and benefit the nation not just a few union men.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Is this serious? Asking people to do overtime and phoning up people off sick to see when they are returning are grounds to strike? The drivers should try working where I do and they would really have something to complain about.

It's illegal. Of course the unions are going to do something about it. Two wrongs don't make a right.


Edit to add - If you had a union where you work, perhaps your conditions wouldn't be something to complain about.

 

[spring hall convert]

If everyone's attitude was 'I've got no rights at work so why should doctors/ nurses/teachers/ train drivers have any,' slavery would probably still be legal.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

“Yet because of management's own short sightedness and mismanagement, members can’t take lieu days they have rightfully accrued because of staff shortages.

not belittling their grievances but there is a worrying trend here.

the buses are short of staff
recently the trains were short of staff for the play offs

why do they have such problems recruiting people? whats the start up pay for bus and train drivers? what do you get after 20 or 30 years......is it so crap they cant attract people into the proffesion

You're assuming they actually want to recruit them in the first place. As with most places I suspect the powers that be want to get by using just the bare minimum as even a little disruption is probably cheaper than hiring people.

 

[pastafarian]

It's illegal. Of course the unions are going to do something about it. Two wrongs don't make a right.

really? is it illegal?
i genuinely didnt know this....

i get people go sick ,we muddle through initially,after a few days i give them a polite call and ask how are you feeling,coming back soon etc? if not hope you get better,all the best and then phone an agency to cover that day......repeat process daily.

i never realised it was illegal to phone up an employee and find out how they were doing so you know how to bring in cover

 

[Biscuit Barrel]

There are people moaning about zero hour contracts because employees do not get enough work, and now we have bus drivers threatening to go on strike because they are being asked to do overtime.

Maybe we could get all the zero hour contract people in Brighton & Hove to train as bus drivers and they could fill in when the bus drivers are tired or when they are off sick (just don't phone up the sick driver to find out when they might be back to work or we could have a mutiny on our hands).

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It's illegal.

What IS illegal is a bus company's failure to run the advertised timetable. The penalties are severe.

 

[GreersElbow]

Where is the next Maggie to make strikes illegal and benefit the nation not just a few union men.

You think withdrawing labour when contracts are broken should be illegal, despite breach of contract being a violation of law?

You really are a twunt.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It seems fairly clear that one of the things that has followed on from the loss of traditional trade union rights is the growth of alternative ways for workers to get their own back in disputes with their employers. Sickness absence is one such option.

The solution seems obvious to me. Restore the rights of the trade unions.

Alternatively, of course, the government could put limitations on the rights of workers to take sick leave. But we'd have to leave the EU for that to happen.

Oh.