Tram drivers to strike in December over fatigue concerns

After a very brief postponement for negotiations, tram drivers for Metrolink Manchester are once again planning to strike. As before, the workers are striking over the dangerous levels of fatigue they’re being forced to endure.

Later this month, around 320 tram drivers from KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited will join the strikes. The workers overwhelmingly voted to reject their bosses’ inadequate proposals to address the issue of fatigue.

Unsafe working conditions

Manchester tram drivers face some of the worst working conditions of any light rail network in the country. Their shift patterns can require them to work up to 450 hours over 12 weeks. Some work six days in a row. Others endure gruelling 50-hour shifts, followed by two days off, before another 50-hour stretch.

The drivers also have fewer rest days than colleagues in other departments such as engineering and customer support.

Needless to say, this level of fatigue is unsafe for both the drivers and the general public. The workers have reported issues with both physical and mental health due to their exhaustion. They’ve also flagged the fact that extreme tiredness affects their concentration, putting themselves passengers and pedestrians at risk.

Unite balloted its members on new Metrolink plans to add in more rest days and change up the rotas. While these are a great idea in themselves, there’s a massive catch: KeolisAmey would need to recruit around 60 new drivers to implement the changes.

Unfortunately, Metrolink is claiming this recruitment will take two years. That means two more years of unsafe conditions for the current drivers, which simply isn’t good enough.

However, Unite believes the recruitment is achievable with better investment in training, along with some short-term service frequency adjustments.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

The vote to reject their employer’s offer and press ahead with industrial action shows how concerned and angry drivers are about chronic levels of fatigue.

The fatigue problem needs to be fixed now. Our members and the general public, who are currently being put at risk, cannot wait for change to be implemented months or years down the line and they continue to have Unite’s full backing during this dispute.

‘Not if, but when’

The drivers involved in the dispute are based at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots, but they operate trams on all Greater Manchester routes. As such, the strikes are expected to cause disruptions across the city and beyond.

They will walk out on 19, 20 and 31 December — the Friday and Saturday before Christmas. These are typically some of the busiest days for bars and shops during the holidays.

Similarly, 31 December, New Year’s Eve, is a major event not just for bars and clubs, but also for the St. Peter’s Square fireworks in Manchester, which attracts 20,000 spectators a year.

The strikes are expected to impact other major events

The Manchester City vs. West Ham game at the Etihad Stadium
Concerts by the Doves and Jools Holland

Commenting on the longstanding issue, Unite regional officer Colin Hayden said:

Fatigue is a very serious issue for our drivers and one they feel very strongly about when it comes to protecting their own as well as their passengers’ safety.

Drivers have said it’s not a case of if an accident will occur, but when. Metrolink and Transport for Greater Manchester’s plans are promising them jam tomorrow – but the fatigue problem needs to be tackled now as a matter of urgency.

Metrolink must commit immediately to recruiting more drivers to ensure rota changes can be implemented quickly. This is the only way to prevent strike action.

Worse still for the city, the 19 and 20 December strike dates coincide with industrial action by 200 Unite members on the Bee bus network. As such, passengers will be faced with a double disruption, facing both tram and bus service cancellations.

It’s a sad fact that this situation was completely avoidable. The union had called off the tram strikes, and sat down at the table to hear the Metrolink bosses’ proposals.

Unfortunately, they chose to ignore the core issue — dangerous driver fatigue — by asking drivers to carry on for two more years. This was an insult, and it’s one the workers wouldn’t put up with. Now, it’s KeolisAmey’s bottom line that’s going to feel the strain.

Featured image via Unite Northwest