By Ethan Davies

Bus drivers in Greater Manchester are set to go on strike in a row over pay.

Drivers who work for Greater Manchester Accessible Transport Ltd (GMAT) — the company which provides Ring and Ride bus services for elderly and disabled passengers — have voted to walk-out for a week. 

Qualifying passengers can book Ring and Ride accessible minibus to take themselves and an accompanying adult, from their home to a destination up to six miles away in Greater Manchester. They can travel further for hospital appointments and to the nearest town centre if needs be.

A single fare starts at just £1.10 per trip, and are available from 8am until well after 10pm, seven days a week. But now Ring and Ride's 7,000 users will face disruption for a week.

Staff won't get behind the wheel from July 1 to July 7, according to Unite. The trade union claims its members are paid 'the lowest wages of all bus companies in the region' at £11.50 per hour.

"Our members have been left with little choice but to take this action in response to such a poor pay offer and we encourage GMAT to come back to the negotiating table with an improved offer to avert strike action," said Unite regional officer Colin Hayden. The union's general secretary, Sharon Graham, also accused GMAT 'of paying poverty wages to drivers performing a vital service'.

GMAT is funded by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which delivers grants to GMAT so it can run services on-the-ground.

A spokesperson for GMATL said: "After the initial pay offer of 4.35 percent was rejected by Union members, GMATL officers met with Unite representatives on May 29 and following discussions an improved offer of 6 percent was put forward. This offer would provide drivers with an hourly rate of £12.20 which is above the real living wage.

"The Union reiterated their demand for a pay increase of over 13 percent and advised their members to reject the offer in a ballot. We have received formal notification today that Unite members now intend to take 'discontinuous strike action' from Monday July 1 to Sunday July 7.

"GMATL is a registered charity and limited company meaning that all grant funding received and revenue from fares is invested in the service to deliver transport to older and disabled people. We are also working to attain full member status of the Good Employment Charter."

(Ring and Ride image by Gerald England, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0)