Star date: 3rd May 2021

HUNDREDS OF MANCHESTER AND SALFORD WORKERS MARCH FOR MAY DAY

Hundreds of trade unionists marched from Piccadilly Gardens to Queen's Road depot today for the annual May Day parade and in support of bus drivers at Go North West who have been on strike for two months.

At the subsequent rally, they heard Colin Hayden of Unite say that Go North West, the drivers' employer, has withdrawn its fire and re-hire contracts which caused the longest bus strike in UK history.

Full details and photos here...

Hundreds of trade unionists braved the rain and wind today to march from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester to Queen's Road bus depot for the annual May Day parade, this year in support of bus drivers for the Go North West company who have been on strike for two months fighting against so-called 'fire and re-hire' contracts.

With cars beeping support all the way and the PCS samba band drumming along, the final rally near the bus depot heard that the company has done a U-turn. Colin Hayden, Unite branch secretary, told the cheering crowd that the union had received a document from the Go Ahead Group stating that 'fire and re-hire' was being withdrawn; that fire and re-hire contracts were now null and void, and that two dismissed union members will be re-instated and have their jobs back.

"The sham bogus disciplines that the company intended to undertake once we went back to work have been scrapped" he said "This a sign of things to come. If we stand together we can overturn these employers and we can make them stand up and think. There's two things that motivate an employer – profit and fear. We put fear in front of their profit to prevent them from getting number one."

He stressed that the deal is not done yet and that the drivers will only go back to work when they have taken a vote and agreed to the terms. But it is looking like a massive victory for the drivers and Unite.

Also speaking at the rally was Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, who slammed the company...

"Fire and re-hire is one of the most pernicious things we've seen since the attacks that took place on workers in the Victorian times" she said "What's worse at this Queen's Road depot, is that it happened to workers who put their lives at risk in this pandemic...imagine after that risk that you've put yourself and your family through that you get a letter from your boss telling you, 'Sorry we're going to drive down your terms and conditions now; thanks for your service but if you don't agree you're going to get the sack'. That's what happened here, and at British Gas and it's just the start of things to come."

Long-Bailey explained that it would take a 'tiny tweak' in legislation to outlaw the fire and re-hire practice but the Tories won't do it..."They're watching picket lines like Queen's Road and British Gas to see how much public support those workers have. They're watching to see how easy it would be to take away workers' rights right across the board."

She concluded by insisting that Boris Johnson wants to turn Britain into the Singapore of Europe where it's 'neo liberalism on steroids'... "We're not going to let that happen" she concluded "We won't stand for fire and re-hire..."

For a full background on the bus drivers dispute see previous Salford Star articles – click here and click here and click here