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19:30, 18th November 2006
Industrial Action – 20th November 2006
Metroline's talks at ACAS with the T&GWU failed yesterday (Friday) despite the company putting a substantially improved offer on the table.
Metroline increased our offer from 4% to 5% and presented to the T&GWU as a way of averting the strike action scheduled for Monday 20th November. The company is extremely disappointed that this revised offer was rejected. The company also requested that strike action on the 20th November was postponed pending a vote by our staff. The T&GWU rejected this request and means that bus services operated by Metroline will be disrupted.
Drivers in Metroline earn on average £24,000 before overtime. The revised company offer will put drivers on just under £25,500 per annum.
The company believes that the offer made by Metroline to drivers is fair and reasonable in the context of recent improvements to pay and our current financial performance.
Jaspal Singh, Chief Executive Officer said "I am extremely disappointed that despite the company's improved offer, passengers will suffer further disruption on Monday. Metroline remains committed to resolving this dispute to avoid the disruption that will occur and has offered binding arbitration, something that was further rejected by the T&GWU.
- Ends -
Notes to Editors:
- The T&GWU press release of 17th November is materially inaccurate.
- Drivers in Metroline currently earn £24,000 before overtime, the proposed increase will increase rates to just under £25,500.
- There is no engineering strike as this pay dispute was successfully resolved on Monday 13th November 2006.
- The action is scheduled to take place on Monday 20th November from 04.00 for a period of 24 hours.
- Metroline is one of the top five London-based bus companies, currently running 13.5% of the capital's bus services under contract to Transport for London.
- Metroline carries 250 million passengers every year, operates 96 routes, covers over 37.5 million journey miles each year, employs almost 3700 people and runs a fleet of over 1,200 buses in North, West and Central London and South Hertfordshire.
- Metroline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singapore based ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited, which is the world's second largest listed land transport company.
For further enquiries please contact:
Sean O'Shea, Chief Operating Officer, Metroline 020 8218 8898
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