West Midlands bus network set to grind to a halt from next week!

Unite bosses warn of daily strike threats until demands are met.

Daily strike threat piles pressure on transport bosses as union bosses confirm strikes will last every day till bosses reach a compromise.

The latest bus strikes, that are set to start next Thursday (16th March) in the West Midlands will then continue EVERY DAY until the dispute is resolved, unions warned, which will bring the transport network grinding to a halt and leaving commuters and shoppers stranded.

Drivers at National Express, which covers 93% of the West Midlands bus network, are set to walk out from Thursday.

And they will not return to work until they get the result they want, Unite confirmed. The unprecedented strike threat leaves the entire region facing the prospect of seeing most of its bus network disappear for days, and has caused huge pressure on local transport bosses.

National Express has criticised drivers and unions over the industrial action and have argued demands for a 19% pay rise are unreasonable. Drivers have been offered an 11% pay rise but Unite insists it's not enough.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “National Express is sitting on mountains of cash and can absolutely afford to give a pay rise to its staff that reflects rocketing living costs. It needs to do just that. Unite defends our members jobs, pay and conditions to the hilt and the National Express workforce has their union’s total and unflinching support during these strikes.”

A National Express spokesman hit back, saying: "How many people reading this can say they’ve been offered a 19% pay rise in a year? Only 60% of drivers voted in favour of industrial action on an out-of-date offer of 8.1% and yet multi-million pound union Unite would see their members out of pocket and the lives of the people of the West Midlands disrupted to score political points."

The threat of continuous strike action bringing chaos to the daily routines of the locals in the West Midlands will only add additional pressure on National Express and local transport bosses to reach a compromise, and that pressure will only increase as next Thursday draws closer.