Tram drivers strike to hit Manchester Christmas shopping period right in the baubles

Ah, December. Streetlights glittering in the 3pm sunset. Right-wing pundits hunting desperately for a shop that’s CANCELLING CHRISTMAS. And who could forget the true spirit of the season: transport strikes in Manchester because KeolisAmey bosses are still refusing to strike a deal with the workers.

“You there boy, what day is it?”
“Why sir, ’tis strike day!”
“Magnificent, there’s still time. Run to the Christmas market and fetch me a £6.50 mulled wine. Oh, and a framed rock with googly eyes and an £8 bratwurst I can eat outside WH Smith.”
“Fuck off sir! The trams aren’t running, and I’m no scab!”

‘Tis the season for strikes Christmas strikes

That’s right, we’ve got major public transport disruption upcoming once again in Manchester next month. This time, 320 KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited (KAML) tram drivers have voted to strike. The workers are based out of the Queens Road and Warwick Road South depots, although they cover routes all across Greater Manchester.

As the drivers and their Unite representatives have already warned, their dispute centres on dangerous levels of fatigue and unsafe work schedules. The shift patterns have some drivers working 50 hours on, two days off, and then straight back to another 50 hours on. This can add up to 450 working hours over a 12-week period.

Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, stated that:

Driver fatigue is a major safety issue for both our members and passengers, but Metrolink management is not taking this seriously.

Metrolink is guilty of not acting on our member’s concerns. It can’t ignore this issue any longer. Our members will have Unite’s full support throughout this strike.

‘How long does it go on?’

Unite has raised the issue of fatigue with management time and again. The drivers are concerned that they’re being made to operate heavy machinery on busy streets without adequate rest periods. That’s a recipe for disaster – for the employees, the company, and the general public.

The tram drivers also receive fewer rest days than their co-workers in other departments like engineering and customer support. Management’s excuse? There’s no money available for safer work patterns.

Colin Hayden, Unite’s regional officer, explained that drivers in Manchester:

work a lot longer than any other tram drivers in the UK […]

Some of their conditions and schedules and rostering is just causing absolute fatigue within the drivers to the point of exhaustion.

We have tried for many, many months to work with the employers to find some sort of resolution but the outcome has always been they haven’t got any money to invest.

How long does it go on, how long do our members have to keep going before someone takes them seriously?

Our fear is that we end up with a serious incident on the network and that is what we are trying to avoid.

Disruption to Christmas markets, football, Ed Sheeran

The KeolisAmey Metrolink, as part of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network, is Britain’s largest tram network. It handled a whopping 4 million journeys last December, and 45 million in 2024 overall in 2024.

Friday 5 December will see the drivers’ initial walkout, and on through to Sunday 7 December. This will impact major events such as the Man City v Sunderland game at the Etihad Stadium, and of course Manchester’s world-famous Christmas market.

Unite’s bargaining position is weakened slightly by the fact that both Ed Sheeran and Jamiroquai are also performing over the weekend. The transport strike will cause major problems for fans of the two artists as they try to cross the city, resulting in an overall net benefit for Greater Manchester. However, union representatives remain confident that they’re still capable of arguing their workers’ case.

Fortunately for KeolisAmey Metrolink bosses, this terrible future (shoppers missing out on £6.50 mulled wine, KAML missing out on the December rush) hasn’t yet come to pass. What’s more, further industrial action could still be averted, should management work with the union to ensure safety for drivers and the public. All the workers are asking for is a healthy numbers of sleeps before Christmas!

Featured image via the Canary