First Manchester (UNITE) Strike Calendar
Strike Type: Bus
Latest Updates (6)
Strikes by drivers working for First Bus in Greater Manchester have been called off after Unite members voted to accept a much-improved pay deal worth 20 per cent. The two-year deal will see members who were on £15 per hour for all days worked go up to £16 immediately backdated to 1 April 2025. Then from October, this will rise again to £16.50 followed by further increments in Jan 2026 to £17 Monday to Friday, £18 Saturday and £19 Sunday. They will then receive a further increase in April 2026 to £18 for working Monday to Friday, £19 for Saturday and £20 for Sunday working. This is a 20 per cent pay rise on working weekdays within six months and goes a long way to addressing the fact that these workers were the lowest paid drivers in the region.
Oldham bus strikes, by members of Unite employed at First Manchester, will be suspended next week (4, 5, 6, 7, 8 September) to allow workers to be balloted on an improved deal.
Strike action plans by Greater Manchester Accessible Transport (GMAT) workers have also been put on hold to allow Unite members to be balloted on a better offer.
Stagecoach drivers are taking action over a failure to backdate a pay offer. While an improved offer of around 14.3 per cent was made - taking the hourly rate to £16 an hour - the deal would have been implemented from September rather than June, the agreed anniversary date for pay rises. Instead, a £750 one-off payment in lieu of full back pay was offered.
First Manchester drivers say that without a significant pay rise, chronic staff shortages and overwork will worsen at the company. The workers have rejected a 7.4 per cent pay offer backdated to April with a further 3.4 per cent in October.
Three-part offer must come in one instalment or strikes will continue to intensify
To First Manchester’s struggling drivers, however, receiving a full pay rise in one go will help relieve the financial pressures they are under from rising prices and historic low pay. Our members do a tough job, First Manchester needs to acknowledge that by providing a no-strings pay deal.”
Pay strikes by around 360 bus drivers employed by First Manchester will intensify during July following a renewed ‘sub par’ offer, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Friday).
First Manchester, which pays drivers a pound less an hour than the region’s other bus operators, revised its previous two-part offer with a three-part deal. The split would see a rise backdated from April, with another implemented from October and a final one in January.
The drivers have been clear that they expect any pay deal to be implemented fully from April. On top of difficult working conditions, including a lack of access to toilets, long shifts and exhaustion from looking after the safety of thousands of passengers in busy built-up areas, the drivers often face physical and verbal abuse.
Around 360 bus drivers employed by First Manchester will strike in July over an “INADEQUATE” pay offer, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Monday). Drivers at First Manchester earn less than other bus companies in the area. First Manchester drivers earn £13.50 an hour, while Go North West pays £14.37, Diamond Bus £14.30 and Stagecoach £14. The difference in wages is expected to increase as the other companies implement their yearly pay increases. First Manchester drivers say that without a significant pay rise, chronic staff shortages and overwork will worsen at the company. The workers have rejected a 7.4 per cent pay offer backdated to April with a further 3.4 per cent in October.
21 Strike Dates 0 Planned