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To: Andy Burnham, Metro Mayor of Greater Manchester

Respect transport workers’ bargaining rights

Unison

By standing firm together and organising successful strike action, union members at TfGM have won a multi-year agreement which includes pay increases for all staff up to March 2027:

- All staff will get a 3.2% increase in pay for this year (2025-26).
- This includes back pay, with around 75% of employees receiving a one-off payment of either £500 or £1,000.
- A further 3% pay increase for all TfGM workers for the upcoming year (2026/27) from 1 April.
- A commitment to pay all TfGM staff at least £15 an hour; an increase in standby payments; increased flexible working for frontline staff; and increases to allowances and salary sacrifice schemes for family travel and electric vehicles.

This new offer was accepted by 87% of UNISON members, demonstrating their unity and strength.

Nearly 500 of you signed the workers' petition to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, in support of their fight. Your solidarity helped them to stay organised and to win.

Thank you once again for your incredible support.

Sign the petition calling on our Metro Mayor, Andy Burnham, to make clear to TfGM that they must respect the bargaining rights of their staff and engage in genuine negotiations over their pay.

Why is this important?

Transport for Greater Manchester, West Midlands Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Combined Authority have signed up to the ‘Passenger Transport Forum’ bargaining agreement with UNISON and Unite. The employers turn up to meetings but refuse to negotiate over pay, claiming they are ‘tied’ to what is agreed by other employers in a separate bargaining unit.

The workers have been offered the latest in a long line of real-terms pay cuts instead of a pay rise that was due back in April. Employees of local authorities and fire and rescue services can negotiate their pay, but this right is being denied to transport workers, who have been left with no alternative to strike action.

These workers are employed in a wide variety of roles from sometimes challenging customer facing roles in transport interchanges, those with safety critical responsibilities such as engineers, through to those planning routes and providing customer information. All our members are skilled and committed to providing the best for the travelling public of these areas ensuring things run smoothly now and that transport networks are fit for purpose far into the future.

To tackle the cost-of-living crisis and climate breakdown we need affordable, reliable, safe and convenient public transport. That can only be delivered by workers on decent pay and whose right to bargain is respected.

Behind the three employers stand the three regional Mayors of Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire – Andy Burnham, Richard Parker and Tracy Brabin. They all say they want improved public transport. They all say they support workers’ rights to negotiate their pay and conditions through their unions.
2 Piccadilly Pl, Manchester M1 3BG, UK

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Updates

2026-03-13 15:59:03 +0000

Petition is successful with 463 signatures

2025-12-16 17:08:49 +0000

100 signatures reached

2025-12-16 11:58:38 +0000

50 signatures reached

2025-12-16 10:42:31 +0000

25 signatures reached

2025-12-16 10:03:40 +0000

10 signatures reached