Threat of strike action by West Midlands Metro workers is met with mixed response

A total walkout was due to start on November 28 in a row over what union Unite called "poverty pay rates".

The planned action has now been put on hold while the union ballots its workers on an improved pay offer.

It came about after urgent talks yesterday.

However, it has warned that an all-out strike could still go ahead if the offer is rejected.

In the meantime, strikes that were due to happen this week have been called off.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, deputy leader of Wolverhampton Council, said if Metro workers still do not feel that the new offer is fair he would support further strike action.

He said: "People need to be treated decently and have their concerns listened to.

"We are faced with people in the public sector who work but are using food banks.

"I sympathise greatly with the people going on strike.

"If people are striking for better pay, it's a strike for everyone, not just the individual unions and sectors."

Sandwell Councillor Peter Hughes, who represents the Wednesbury North ward, said he too would support strike action if workers felt it was still necessary.

He added: "It's a sad result of strike action that it will impact on people's means of getting to work and, in the run-up to Christmas, people's ability to move between towns to do their Christmas shopping. But there are alternative methods of transport like buses which people can use too."

Others were not in favour of any further strike action.

Occasional Metro user Helen Stevens, 49, from West Bromwich, said the strikes 'ruin people's plans'.

"I do not get out much, once or twice a month, so when a Metro strike happens on the day I see my friends I can not go out and see them," she added.

"The buses are so unreliable around Sandwell, only the Metro connects me to Birmingham.

"Liz Truss said she would stop this sort of thing but she was not given a chance, these Metro workers should be forced to work. Lots of people would love their job."

The 170-plus workers, who are members of Unite, have been taking extensive strike action since October 15.

The union said the decision to move to an all-out strike was taken because despite extensive negotiations at the conciliation service Acas, the employer offered a "derisory" one-off payment of £300 paid in April 2023 to resolve the dispute.

Now, if the new offer is accepted, further strikes will be called off.

A West Midlands Metro spokesman said: “Following further talks involving Acas, we welcome the union’s decision to suspend industrial action while it ballots members on an enhanced pay offer. We hope that colleagues accept these latest proposals, avoiding any further disruption for our customers.”