DEVON BUS CRISIS

Bus drivers in Devon are abandoning Stagecoach in large numbers because of low pay rather than Covid and Brexit, RMT has said. The firm recently issued an apology after some services in Torbay and Plymouth saw disruption 'due to circumstances beyond our control' blaming Brexit and the pandemic. However, the firm later added that it was unable to run some services due to driver shortages. One anonymous Stagecoach worker said that the real reason 'drivers are leaving in droves' is because of poor pay and conditions. RMT regional organiser Barry West agreed and said that while the two national issues may play some part the real problem was drivers being under appreciated by the company. According to the union, in the last three months alone more than 100 bus workers, mostly drivers, have left Stagecoach in Exeter and Plymouth. The figures show that since May 26 at least 55 have gone in each city. In Barnstaple the figure is 22 and Torquay 11. Another anonymous driver said that the problem of staff leaving was getting worse. Barry said that a typical bus driver in Plymouth gets paid £10 an hour and the union was currently negotiating with Stagecoach for improved terms and conditions for its members. "They are professional people and they deserve decent living wages. "The cost of housing has gone up in the South West disproportionally to the rest of the country. "I can tell you a significant and disproportionate number of staff have left the business at Stagecoach in the South West over the last few months. "We've seen increasing levels of staff leaving and our members say that they were frustrated about wages and remuneration they received. "They worked all the way through the pandemic and were hailed as heroes by many for keeping the industry afloat, taking people to hospital and essential meetings and putting themselves at risk so society could maintain some sort of normality in difficult times. "The likelihood is that some of the issues about shortages are being caused by Covid but how can the company explain 55 staff leaving in Pymouth. "We have clear information from our members they are leaving due to poor wages and it appears to be an ongoing problem," he said. Stagecoach's issues with staff shortages back in 2019. Councillors in Exeter raised a series of concerns about services in Exeter, including buses missing stops and cancellations of services. The company said at the time that driver sickness was behind the problems. Back in 2018 the union said drivers were not being supported by the company against a rise in physical, verbal and sexual assaults around Devon. The Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee recently grilled Stagecoach South West operational director Paul Clark on developments affecting bus services and the network in and around Exeter. Cllr Rob Hannaford said that he had been told that Stagecoach were around 25- 30 drivers short and asked what Stagecoach were doing to tackle it. DEVON BUS CRISIS Union warns that 150 staff have quit Stagecoach ‘over low pay and conditions’ RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2021 :: RMTnews 8 : septem