*Now Called Off* Nottingham Tram Strikes Autumn 2024

[tram21]

GMB Union have announced that strikes are planned for goose fair this year, due to an unfair pay deal.

Internal sources have said that a plan is being worked on, and will hopefully be a reduced service if the strike goes ahead, but there has to be enough staff to make this safe.

I do hope information is released regarding service levels before the event, and not at the eleventh hour like before (the strikes were called off the day before)

https://www.gmb.org.uk/news/nottingham-faces-goose-fair-tram-strike-disruption

Over 90% workers on the City’s tram network have backed strike action.
GMB Union has today announced that workers on Nottingham’s tram network have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over pay, with over 90% backing industrial action.

The Union has warned that strike action could coincide with Nottingham’s annual Goose Fair, due to take place later this month.

Around 300 workers are expected to join strike action, across the network’s drivers, ticket office staff and maintenance teams.

Colin Whyatt, GMB Regional Organiser, said;

“Our members want nothing less than to take action during one of Nottingham’s busiest weeks.

“Tram workers do vital work for our city, keeping families, workers and businesses moving every single day.

“They’re facing huge cost of living pressures and all they’re asking for is a pay packet that covers the bills.

“Tram owners Keolis make eye watering profits, it’s only right that workers are rewarded for their hard work.

“Tram bosses must urgently come back to the table and find a way forward on this”.

 

[Kite159]

"Tram owners Keolis make eye watering profits"

Is that profits company-wide or just for the Nottingham Tramway?

Or is another case of an union claiming that either First Group or Stagecoach made eye watering profits in the one year they sold off an American operation as a reason why staff should get a massive pay deal, failing to take into account that the profits made from that sale were a one-off.

 

[tram21]

Is that profits company-wide or just for the Nottingham Tramway?

It must be company-wide, as the tram system is certainly not making a profit!! Money is very tight within NET

 

[JordR]

The company holding the concession, Tramlink Nottingham Limited, made a £57m loss on £63m of revenue in its most recent accounts for the year to 31 March 2023. Looks like a big one-off impairment in there, but definitely not "eye watering profits" even so!

 

[tram21]

Been told by an insider source that the current plan should strikes go ahead, is to run a very limited service, with no trams running south of Nottingham Station, and the service stopping before Goose Fair opens for the day.

Should the strike go ahead, it will be an incredibly difficult week for the city.

 

[tram21]

NET have today posted this update:

Link to X post
OR
Link to Instagram Post

I apologise I cannot quote this due to it being posted as a photo.

 

[D365]

NET have today posted this update:

Link to X post
OR
Link to Instagram Post

I apologise I cannot quote this due to it being posted as a photo.

I have extracted the text via iOS text recognition:

Following the news of the proposed planned strike action, which is set to take place between 27 September and 6 October, NET remains in ongoing talks and negotiations with GMB in the hopes of coming to a resolution. In the meantime, we're busy working on contingency travel plans to cover the potential strike period, should it go ahead. We will continue to update you across all our channels, so do check back closer to the time for further information, and get in touch with our team if you have any concerns.

 

[tram21]

Around 40 hours to go until the planned strike action begins at 00:00 on Thursday night/ Friday morning, and no information yet from NET regarding alternative travel arrangements, or service levels in place...

 

[STINT47]

Around 40 hours to go until the planned strike action begins at 00:00 on Thursday night/ Friday morning, and no information yet from NET regarding alternative travel arrangements, or service levels in place...

It does seem really poor to have no information this close to the strike. I've just finished work, I'm off tomorrow and as it stands I have no idea if I can get a tram to work on Friday or what if any alternatives are available.

NET does seem to struggle to put out timely and accurate information when things go wrong causing great annoyance.

 

[1D54]

Should the strike go ahead, it will be an incredibly difficult week for the city.

It'll not be great but ' incredibly difficult' is a little strong. People are a very resilient bunch as has been seen over the past couple of years with track travel or the lack of it. Nottingham coped prior 2004 and it will again.

 

[tram21]

It'll not be great but ' incredibly difficult' is a little strong. People are a very resilient bunch as has been seen over the past couple of years with track travel or the lack of it. Nottingham coped prior 2004 and it will again.

While I tend to agree, you also have to consider Goose Fair is now a massive event attracting many people. With no trams, people will have to find alternatives which will cause disruptions.

People who claim we coped at Goose Fair pre-2004, yes of course we did, with alternative arrangements such as P&R buses and shuttle buses playing the role of the tram, which are now withdrawn due to the convenience of the tram. While it won't be the end of the world, alternatives have changed now following the introduction of the tram due to the shift to the tram, so an impromptu 'closure' of the Tramway will not put people back to before the opening, as the alternatives are no longer there. Beeston & Clifton have seen their bus networks massively reduced, with the tram being the main reason, and from many personal observations in Beeston, these services cannot absorb the additional traffic.

 

[Cross City]

Still nothing about the effect on service from NET. Pretty poor really.

 

[tram21]

Still nothing about the effect on service from NET. Pretty poor really.

I have internal sources confirming the strike. NET info should come shortly

 

[STINT47]

It's now confirmed that the strike is going ahead. No news on what alternatives if any have been made for people with season tickets.

The late announcement is very very poor. NET have not handled this very well.

 

[tram21]

Information has now been posted: https://web.eu.freshchat.com/app/services/category/28777/article/96862/1?appId=124732498030636

Unfortunately tram tickets are not accepted on buses. Here is alternative payment options I've put together for anyone who needs it.

Alternative travel payment options:

Trains: A week ticket is £7.50 for children or £15 for adults from Attenborough/ Beeston to Nottingham (unlimited trips both ways). A week ticket from Hucknall is £9.55 or £19.10, and Bulwell is £14.70 or £7.35. Railcard discounts are available if you have one.

NCT Week tickets are £22 for adults, £12 for U19s or £18 for U22s.

Trentbarton week ticket is £42 for adults, but £2 fare each way will be under that. Its £27 for u19s.

 

[MCR247]

While I tend to agree, you also have to consider Goose Fair is now a massive event attracting many people. With no trams, people will have to find alternatives which will cause disruptions.

People who claim we coped at Goose Fair pre-2004, yes of course we did, with alternative arrangements such as P&R buses and shuttle buses playing the role of the tram, which are now withdrawn due to the convenience of the tram. While it won't be the end of the world, alternatives have changed now following the introduction of the tram due to the shift to the tram, so an impromptu 'closure' of the Tramway will not put people back to before the opening, as the alternatives are no longer there. Beeston & Clifton have seen their bus networks massively reduced, with the tram being the main reason, and from many personal observations in Beeston, these services cannot absorb the additional traffic.

Indeed. I remember the days of double decker specials running from Queen St to Forest Rec, as well as from Queens Drive to Goose Fair. Passing bus routes that weren’t usually double deck suddenly were for those couple of weeks.

As we aren’t suddenly going to get those back, I do expect disruption. Especially with the roadworks on the goose fair island and the resulting reduced road space. The fact buses will be king once again won’t be too good for congestion in the area since bus stops have also shrunk! I expect severe delays on Mansfield Road services due to increased passenger load and traffic. As far as strikes go it’s very effective as I expect it’ll manage to disrupt a fair amount more people than the number that use the tram directly.

Even the fact that Nottingham’s double deck fleet is no longer made up by a lot of long wheelbase omnidekkas will play a part in the disruption

 

[Ben Rhydding]

So they are neither making tickets available on buses nor are they going to give extensions or refunds on season tickets. In support of the latter, they quote the terms and conditions. Actually, these say nothing about refunds when no service is provided. Even if they did say "no service = no refund", such a condition would surely be invalid.

It`s taken them until the eve of the strike to issue any information at all. Up to a few hours ago, they were advertising a full range of tickets without any warning that they would retain the money in the event that they provided no service.

Do they think there`s no law of contract in Nottingham?

 

[psmith2023]

Wouldn't surprise me if nct or Stagecoach won't provide a couple of buses each to provide a shuttle service from the city centre to goose fair site as even at 3 quid each way it would be the best option

 

[tram21]

Wouldn't surprise me if nct or Stagecoach won't provide a couple of buses each to provide a shuttle service from the city centre to goose fair site as even at 3 quid each way it would be the best option

They're not allowed to, under Traffic Commissioner rules you have to register a fare-paying service 2 weeks in advance. They could easily create a free service, but they are unable to make a fare-paying one at such short notice.

 

[psmith2023]

They're not allowed to, under Traffic Commissioner rules you have to register a fare-paying service 2 weeks in advance. They could easily create a free service, but they are unable to make a fare-paying one at such short notice.

The only way they can do it stagecoach or Trent Barton run dupe runs by Just running them as very short ie pronto notts to arnold and Trent notts to hucknall tram stop of nearest stop to it

 

[STINT47]

Does anyone know if NET have to offer a partial refund for the days when there are no services?

I've paid for a three month season but they're not providing the service that's been paid for.

The reply from NET is no refund, no extensions and no alternative ticket acceptance I will now be out of pocket paying for alternative travel so they must have some responsibility to offer something?

 

[duffield]

Does anyone know if NET have to offer a partial refund for the days when there are no services?

I've paid for a three month season but they're not providing the service that's been paid for.

The reply from NET is no refund, no extensions and no alternative ticket acceptance I will now be out of pocket paying for alternative travel so they must have some responsibility to offer something?

Unless I'm being dense, the strike FAQs (at the bottom of this linked page) seem to contradict themselves:

Q. Can I claim a partial refund on my season pass or weekly ticket? A. Whilst we can't offer a partial refund, you do have the right to claim a refund on your season pass in line with our refund policy. See our Terms and Conditions page for more information

Q. I have a weekly ticket or a 1-month season pass, can I claim a refund? Whilst our terms and conditions on refunds do not account for 1-month or weekly tickets, we will be able to calculate a refund, minus any of the time already used on your ticket. Please contact our customer relations team at info@thetram.net

What on Earth does "we can't offer a partial refund, you do have the right to claim a refund" mean?

 

[tram21]

Unless I'm being dense, the strike FAQs (at the bottom of this linked page) seem to contradict themselves:


What on Earth does "we can't offer a partial refund, you do have the right to claim a refund" mean?

It means you can't cancel your pass just for the strike, e.g. ask for a 10 day refund, but you are more than welcome to fully cancel your pass in line with the T&Cs, e.g. if you started your pass in September, you can get 11/12 of the cost back

 

[STINT47]

What on Earth does "we can't offer a partial refund, you do have the right to claim a refund" mean?

I think they mean that rhey will not offer any money back for the days lost due to the strike. However if you want to cancel your season ticket completely they will give you a percentage of it's value based on the time left

I agree it's contradictory and does not make sense. A bit like NET customer service and communication in general.

One thing I do know is that when my current season ticket runs out and I have to decide between renewing for the tram or bus, how they have handled the strike will not be forgotten.

 

[MCR247]

Good news! The rest of the strike is cancelled from 6am tomorrow! Announced after 10pm on a Friday night on X

 

[duffield]

Good news! The rest of the strike is cancelled from 6am tomorrow! Announced after 10pm on a Friday night on X

That is good news. I don't use the trams much but I regularly use bus routes which partly match the tram route, and they are already very crowded at certain times without adding a load of tram passengers.

It's good that they seem to have been able to reinstate a full service immediately (that's not how it's worked in the past on the railway, which is obviously a lot more complex).

 

[tram21]

It was absolute chaos today, excellent news for all!

 

[Ghostbus]

NET: Tram strike called off as full service resumes tomorrow morning after '11th hour deal' | West Bridgford Wire

NET has announced this evening that normal service will resume on Saturday 28 September at 6 am. Featured, NET Trams

westbridgfordwire.com

Workers voted to accept the updated offer from management, which will see workers receive an 8.5 per cent pay uplift over the next two years.

Colin Whyatt, GMB Organiser, said:

“We may have ruffled a few feathers in this dispute, but tram workers do vital work keeping families, businesses and communities moving.

I really don't appreciate the levity. It's almost like they're gloating.

 

[psmith2023]

They do it every year around this time as it seems they wait for the goose fair