National Express West Midlands bus driver strike under way

Hundreds of thousands of bus passengers are experiencing travel disruption as drivers for one of the UK's biggest networks have walked out in a pay row.

National Express West Midlands urged customers not to travel on its local services "unless you really need to".

It expects to provide only a limited service from Monday, mainly serving major hospitals in the region.

The strike was originally called off. But last Thursday, the Unite union announced it would still go ahead.

That was confirmed on Saturday when the results of a ballot showed 71% of members supported the industrial action.

National Express said drivers in the union had rejected an "improved offer" of a 14.3% pay increase. Unite, however, said the offer had "more strings attached than a grand piano".

Bus drivers with the firm start at £11.80 an hour which rises to £14 after three years, the union said. It added bus drivers in London received £18 an hour after two years of service.

The strike involves about 3,100 drivers and continues indefinitely, Unite said.

National Express West Midlands runs 1,600 buses on routes across Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Walsall, Dudley and West Bromwich and into parts of Worcestershire.

Its network typically carries about 600,000 passengers every day.

One striking worker, Steve Hogan, told the BBC he felt "massively undervalued" by the company.

"What we do is not easy, and we need all our skill. We're in charge of a massive piece of kit, which requires immense amount of skill and concentration to operate safely.

"We're doing our best for everybody and we're not appreciated."

Mr Hogan said "14% of a very low amount is not good", adding: "We're very low paid for what we do."

Another driver, Janice Arnold, said the strikes were justified as she felt unsafe at work and had had bricks thrown at her bus in the past.

"We feel intimidated, and I don't think the company are doing enough to make us feel like we can come to work and be treated with respect," she said.

Mr Hogan's colleague Kasim Saddique said he was "really disappointed that it's come to this stage".

"We're under-valued, we're under-appreciated," he added.

"At one point here we were hailed as heroes, and now no-one's acknowledging us.

"Me and my colleagues are only asking for what is our right."

Unite said action by its members would be "all out" and "indefinite" until an agreement was reached.

"Our members are clear the offer needs to improve to reflect rising prices and the incredibly hard job they do," said Unite national officer Onay Kasab.

George Turner, who lives just outside Birmingham, said he often used buses to go to work and college.

He said he had had to get up earlier on Monday.

"I rely on the buses for work and I work a lot in the holidays and if they continue through the holidays, it's just going to become a massive pain," he said.

Another passenger, who did not want to reveal their name, told the BBC they were disabled, needed two walking sticks and had to walk their son to school today.

"I witnessed stranded and distressed children trying to get to school, one boy had been waiting for the 49 for over an hour until I told him there was no buses," they said.

National Express said it was "sincerely sorry" to passengers "who just want to go about their daily lives and not have to contend with the disruption and chaos that this strike will bring".

Managing director of the firm in the West Midlands, Dave Bradford, said the company was "working around the clock, talking to the union, talking to the drivers to try and get this resolved as quickly as possible".

He added: "We think that a 14.3% pay offer is one of the best pay offers anywhere in any job in any sector at the moment."

Engineers who had previously been set to strike had voted to accept a pay offer, Unite said.

It added it was working with partners to minimise the strike's impact and was "seeking to bring a speedy resolution".

Passengers are advised to check the National Express website for routes and running times.

National Express West Midlands' coach division is not affected.

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