“Continuous strike action” will commence from Monday 20th March 2023 after NX bus drivers voted to reject the latest “improved” pay deal offered to them.
On it’s website, the Unite union announced this afternoon:
All out indefinite strike action by more than 3,100 National Express West Midland’s bus drivers will begin at 00:01 hrs on Monday 20 March.
The workers voted by 71 per cent against a deal put forward by the company in a ballot held over Friday and Saturday.
Previously-announced reduced service operation will commence on Monday morning, further details in the following article:
NX Bus Managing Director David Bradford has issued an open letter to bus passengers this afternoon:
I’m disappointed to say that our drivers have rejected our 14.3% pay offer and that means there will be a strike starting on Monday 20th March, with some late buses on Sunday 19th March affected. Sadly we don’t know how long the strike will last.
I am sorry for the disruption this is going to cause. Services will be very limited and, our advice is to avoid travel by National Express bus if possible, and check our website for live updates on which routes are running.
We are promising three things:
- Our goal is to run as many buses as we can. We care deeply about our customers and will prioritise routes that serve hospitals and build up what we can above that. We know a lot of drivers didn’t vote to strike, don’t want to strike, and are planning to come to work as usual. We don’t yet know how many buses and routes this will mean we can run, and things will change at short notice.
- We will provide regular updates on our website and social media about which services are operating and to what timetable. We commit to communicate openly and honestly about what is running, as things change.
- We will of course refund the cost of your bus ticket if you can’t travel. There will be a form on our website from 20th March.
We remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible. Please know that serving our customers is uppermost in our minds.
Bus services provided by other operators – Diamond, Arriva, Stagecoach, Kevs etc – are not affected and will run to usual schedules.
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