How did Andy Burnham end up with transport staff on strike weeks before ‘biggest change yet’?

In three weeks, Greater Manchester will undergo ‘the biggest change yet to our public transport’, according to mayor Andy Burnham.

But this week, transport staff and the have been locked in a bitter strike battle featuring picket lines, marches and social media spats.

The ‘big change’ comes on January 5, when Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) takes over half the region’s buses. Services will then become Bee Network-run, meaning every bus in Greater Manchester will be publicly-controlled for the first time since the 1980s.

But with three weeks to go before the big day, TfGM staff are not at their desks. They are on strike in a row over pay and parental leave.

Previously, the mayor admitted he was ‘concerned’ about the strike, questioning the timing of industrial action: “We just ask colleagues now; this is a big moment for Greater Manchester, we’ve all been working at this for years ...is this really the right time to do this?”

So, with a red letter day looming and the two parties seemingly no closer to ending the dispute, the Manchester Evening News examines how the mayor ended up with staff on strike at a crucial time for his transport agenda.

Who is on strike?

Some TfGM back-office staff represented by two trade unions – Unite and Unison – are on strike, but no bus or tram drivers. The action means Bee Network services are running normally.

But some services are also closed, like ticket offices and toilets, because the staff required to operate them have also walked out.

Why is TfGM staff on strike?

TfGM is headquartered in Piccadilly Place, where a picket line formed on the first day of the strike (December 12).

“There is grave concern over parental pay policies,” Unison secretary Tony Wilson said. “There’s members who have said, if they wanted to start a family, they would have to move to another employer.”

Staff call the parental leave policy ‘antiquated’, which is understood to include six weeks of maternity cover at 90 percent pay, followed by 12 weeks at half-pay, plus statutory pay.

After that, the offer is reduced to 21 weeks statutory pay – and the remaining 13 weeks are unpaid. There is also no policy in place granting leave to employees who adopt children.

It’s this policy one mum who works for TfGM, and asked to stay anonymous, claims meant she had to raid £7,000 of savings to cover the family during the birth of their son.

Other union demands included a 10 per cent pay rise, a wage of £15 an hour by March 2026, increased allowances for on-call workers — which staff claim has not been reviewed in ‘years’, and a reduction of weekly working hours from 37 to 36.

How has the mayor responded?

Towards the end of strike day one, Mr Burnham published an open letter on social media.

Earlier in the day, he had been in a spat with union activists online, pointing out the same offer had been accepted by transport workers in West Yorkshire and the West Midlands, as negotiations were initially taking place across the three regions collectively.

However, he broke away from that format to invite union reps to Greater Manchester-specific face-to-face talks on Friday (13 December).

But the letter did set out some of the mayor’s red lines.

“Under our offer, 72 per cent of the workforce would get a pay rise between three percent and 9.3 percent, with the biggest rises for those on the lowest pay,” it read. “The remaining 28 percent would receive a 2.5 percent pay increase.”

The mayor added he ‘would be willing to meet’ but ‘only’ on three conditions. Namely, they were the removal of the union’s counter-offer; any changes would be paid-for by existing budgets; and the demand for a reduced working week was taken off the table.

A final message was delivered, too: “I want to be clear that I am not prepared to consider above-inflation pay increases for people on salaries between £51,600 and £96,000, as you have proposed, under any circumstances.”

How long will the strike go on for?

The first round of strikes is scheduled for four days, ending after Monday (December 15). Another walk-out is set for 20-23 December.

Talks could avoid the action just days before Christmas, especially given the fact the mayor said he was ‘open’ to meeting requests on the parental leave policy which has vexed so many TfGM staff.

Those talks would also seemingly require the union to move on pay and remove their offer.

Unison and UNITE have been approached for comment.

Ethan Davies, Local Democracy Reporter