Parklife festival could be 'heavily affected' by Metrolink strikes, a union has warned ahead of a ballot for industrial action opening tomorrow (May 11). Workers will vote on whether to strike over the 'woeful' offer they have had.
If the strikes go ahead, they could begin as early as next month and coincide with the weekend of June 10 and 11 when Parklife festival is happening at Heaton Park. There are also events planned at the Etihad Stadium, Old Trafford and the AO Arena over the weekend when the strike could start.
Metrolink staff have been offered a 5 pc pay rise, according to Unite which represents more than 600 members. But the union says that this increase - described as a 'very significant real terms pay cut' - covers a 15-month period as the tram operator tries to move the date when pay rises come into effect.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Metrolink are guilty of making a woeful offer to our members. This is a company operated by two incredibly wealthy multinationals who can fully afford to make a fair pay offer but have chosen not to.
"Unite is entirely focussed on the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the workers at Metrolink will receive the union’s complete support.”
Starting pay rates at Metrolink are currently as low as £20,000 for customer service relations - or inspectors - while starting salaries for drivers begin at £22,000 and £26,000 for engineers. Metrolink is operated and maintained by a joint venture company Keolis Amey which holds the contract to run the service that Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is responsible for.
A ballot for strike action opens tomorrow (May 11) and closes on Thursday, 25 May. If the strikes go ahead, they could coincide with the stadium and arena gigs of The Weeknd and Roger Waters as well as Parklife.
On the same weekend last year, there were an additional 400,000 visitors to Greater Manchester as Parklife took place while Ed Sheeran, the Killers and Alicia Keys performed elsewhere. Over 50,000 passengers were reported on the Ashton and Altrincham lines with 80,000 passengers on the Bury line.
TfGM is working with the operator and organisers to try and limit disruption. But if strike action takes place, it is unlikely that a tram service will operate.
Speaking ahead of the ballot, TfGM’s Head of Metrolink Danny Vaughan, said: "A strike that weekend will clearly be disruptive and impact more than just festival goers. We are closely monitoring the situation and will of course keep passengers updated once we have been notified of the outcome of the ballot.”
Rob Cox, HR director for KeolisAmey Metrolink (KAM), said: "We have received notification from Unite of their intention to ballot their members for strike action. We will await the outcome of this ballot before deciding next steps."
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