Around 3,300 National Express Group PLC (LSE:NEX) workers will walk out later this month as they object to a pay offer that equates to a real-terms cut, while the company shells out millions on its dividend for shareholders.
Over 3,000 drivers will begin continuous strikes, alongside 200 engineers, from March 16, after voting 96% in favour of walkouts on Thursday.
“National Express is sitting on mountains of cash and can absolutely afford to give a pay rise to its staff,” Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham commented.
The FTSE 250-listed coach company reported a huge jump in pre-tax profits to £145.9mln on Thursday, as customers took to its services to avoid disruption from train strikes.
Having paused its dividend payment in the pandemic it today reinstated the payout, at a rate of 5p per share, saying it was "after careful consideration... reflecting the strong outlook for the business and recognising it needs to be done prudently and alongside a continued focus on the pace of deleveraging and maintaining sufficient investment capacity for growth".
Unite regional officer Sulinder Singh claimed National Express's "greed" was the reason why its entire West Midland’s bus network will be shut down, as the company had offered staff a pay rise of between 11.1-11.5%, below the CPIH price inflation rate of 13.4% in December.
Walkouts are anticipated to shut down “the entire West Midlands bus network,” according to Unite union, including in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Walsall, Dudley and West Bromwich.
"The company needs to put forward an offer that our members can accept" to avoid disruption, Singh added.