Nick Hart, Black Country Socialist Party
After 18 days of strike action, tram drivers and conductors at West Midlands Metro have won a resounding victory against low pay. Having previously been paid less than £22,000 a year, for round-the-clock shifts requiring high concentration at all times, drivers will now receive a 20% increase. Other grades are set to receive an inflation-busting pay rise in excess of the company’s original offer.
Having never struck before in the service’s 22 years, the lively pickets outside the depot, with a well-managed rota to ensure a presence throughout the daytime, sent a strong message to management that Unite the Union members were unwilling to accept poverty pay for a physically and mentally demanding job.
But they would never have had to take action if Labour politicians on the Transport for West Midlands board had stood up for these essential workers rather than ignoring them.
We need a party that stands up for workers and fights for the funding for affordable, properly staffed and publicly owned transport across our region!
