Iain Dalton, Socialist Party Yorkshire secretary
Over 650 workers at five Arriva Yorkshire depots in Castleford, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Selby and Wakefield are due to take indefinite strike action from Monday 6 June, in the first strike action taken by these workers since 2016.
Arriva has offered just a 4.1% pay rise, far below RPI inflation of 11.1%. The drivers’ starting salary of £9.78 is just 28p above the minimum wage.
Labour’s West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin was elected on a platform of taking back control of the buses in West Yorkshire. But instead of bringing them into public ownership and paying drivers decent wages, she has struck an ‘enhanced partnership’ with these low-paying bosses.
