Some Arriva staff return to GWU

“Several” Arriva employees who walked out of the General Workers’ Union earlier this week have withdrawn their resignation, the union said.

On Monday, the president of a new union that was set up one year after the launch of the revamped bus service said the GWU had received 100 resignation letters, with more employees willing to leave. The in-house Public Transport Union was formed after Arriva drivers “lost hope” in the GWU.

But the GWU yesterday said “several” had contacted the union to withdraw their resignation. However, the union refused to give the precise number of those who had rejoined as it insisted that this was “confidential information”.

Arriva employees had realised that only the GWU could look after their interests, the union said, adding it had just held a meeting over its proposals for a new collective agreement with the bus operator and hoped talks would draw to a close in three weeks’ time.