200 Supertram staff members strike over pay dispute

Two days of strike action on the Sheffield Supertram network begins today as drivers and conductors walk-out in a dispute over pay.

About 200 drivers and conductors working on the 48-stop light rail tram system will strike for 24 hours today (Monday 9 July) and again on Thursday (12 July). Both strikes will start at 1am.

Unite, the country’s largest union, said that the workers had overwhelmingly rejected the latest revised three-year pay offer from May 2018 made by the employer, South Yorkshire Supertram.

Unite said that when the details were analysed it amounted to an increase of just 26p an hour.

Bosses at Supertram have pledged to run a bus replacement service to help people travel during the strike today, supplemented by a limited number of trams where possible. Plans are being developed for Thursday’s strike.

A further 72-hour strike is planned for July 20-22, the weekend of the Tramlines festival, if the dispute is not resolved before then.

Stagecoach Supertram has now accused the Unite union of “deliberately targeting” young people and one of the biggest boosts to the Sheffield economy by calling strike action from 20-22 July.

The additional strike will cover the entire period of the city’s largest music festival, Tramlines, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has an economic impact of £9m according to previous research by Sheffield Hallam University’s Business School.

Transport plans are still being developed for the strikes later in the month and Supertram is working with all partners, including the festival organisers, to see what arrangements can be put in place.

But Tim Bilby, Managing Director of Supertram, said: “Unite has deliberately targeted young people and the Tramlines festival with this planned strike action. It clearly has no thought for the impact on local people and the local economy, which gets a £9million benefit from the Tramlines festival every year.

“The union is misleading Supertram employees into thinking this will result in an improved pay offer. In fact, we have to be very clear that it will have the opposite effect.

“We have provided a very healthy pay deal, which is higher than the average pay settlement in the UK economy today, during a period in which we are not making profit due to the effects of rail replacement work. Strike action will reduce the money available to fund the pay deal and we will have no option but to withdraw the current offer if any strike action goes ahead.”
Stagecoach said that Supertram employees were offered a new three-year deal, which effectively increased the hourly rates over the first two years of 6.8% for conductors and 5.8% for drivers. This offer incorporates, as suggested by the union, a reduction in the contracted weekly hours.

Unite regional coordinating officer Steve Clark said: “Our members have seen through the ‘smoke and mirrors’ conjured up by the management which amounts to a 26p an hour  increase in the first year; 26p in the second year and potentially less than that in year three.

“In these inflationary times, our members want a decent pay rise, not one that borders on the insulting.

“We predict that the Sheffield Supertram system will be paralysed on the two days of strike action.

“We appreciate that this will cause inconvenience to the travelling Sheffield public, which we deeply regret. And as we understand the impact on the network, our door is open 24/7 for talks with the management to reach a fair settlement.

“However, unless the company comes up with a substantial cash offer for our hardworking members, more strike action during July is definitely on the cards.”

Unite members voted by 91% for strike action and by 95% for industrial action short of a strike.

Stagecoach Supertram said: “We are working hard to provide a very limited tram service on the Purple route between 7am and 7pm on Monday 9th July and a bus service for other routes on both days.

“Due to the number of passengers our trams are able to carry compared to buses, we will not be able to provide the same number of seats as normal.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.”