The Unite union has welcomed the decision by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to purchase National Express West Midlands' entire bus operations for £24 million, a move that will bring the majority of bus services in the region under public control. The deal, announced on Tuesday, August 18, was backed by the Government and is seen as a safeguard for thousands of jobs and hundreds of services.
Union Backing and Criticism of Monopoly
Unite, which represents thousands of National Express workers in the region, described the previous situation as "lunacy," noting that a single operator could put nearly the entire bus network at risk. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated: "Unite welcomes the decision today by the government and the West Midlands Combined Authority to safeguard jobs and services. The fact that a single operator could put nearly the entire West Midlands' bus network at risk is lunacy. It is yet another example of how bus companies across the country are failing bus workers, passengers and communities in their drive to extract profits at the expense of jobs and services. This is why Unite will keep campaigning for bus services everywhere in the UK to be brought back under public ownership."
Unite regional officer Stu Davis added: "The uncertainty at National Express has obviously caused concerns for workers, however, Unite will be ensuring their hard-fought terms, conditions and agreements are carried across to the new employer."
Deal Details and Government Support
Mobico Group, the parent company of National Express West Midlands, confirmed the deal and said it was "de-risking" the company from future uncertainty over Mayor Richard Parker's plans to introduce a franchised network. Prime Minister Andy Burnham described a fragile bus service "that would undoubtedly have collapsed" and said routes were being propped up with public subsidies.
Mayor's Response and Future Plans
Following the announcement, Mr Parker said it would have been "catastrophic" not to acquire National Express West Midlands bus operations, which account for around 94 per cent of services in the region. He said: "What we did was all about ensuring we protect bus services and jobs because there was a real risk hundreds of buses would have been withdrawn, thousands of jobs would have been put at risk and frankly the private operator wanted to withdraw from the market. We know how important bus services are to people in this region, whether they are getting to work, school or hospital appointments and they depend on the buses. National Express have got a near monopoly here and the impact for this region would have been profound, it could have been catastrophic. We had to make this intervention and, by doing so, it makes our transition to the next stage of franchising more straight forward and, having protected the market, it allows us to properly effectively plan for the future."
