Bus Row Rumbles On

The Isle of Man Trades Union Council (TUC) has turned up the volume in the ongoing Bus Vannin strike saga, and this time it’s taking aim at the ‘headline figure’ published by the Department of Infrastructure.

With the strike now into its sixth day (Thursday) and further action possible next week and for much of March, the DOI released details of the average salary for a Bus Vannin driver.

In a statement issued yesterday, the department said that in this year’s pay settlement bus drivers received a 3% pay increase.

It said that following that agreement, Unite had sought changes to drivers’ terms and conditions which would have the effect of significantly increasing pay.

The department stated that the average Bus Vannin driver has ‘median take-home pay of £36,000 per year.’

But the TUC says the number grabbing attention doesn’t tell the full story.

‘Headlines grab attention. That’s their job,’ the council said.

‘But a headline figure isn’t a guaranteed rate. It isn’t consolidated pay. It isn’t what every driver actually earns. And let’s be clear, the average being quoted is pre-tax. It is not take-home pay.’

According to the TUC, the dispute isn’t about a flashy number in a press release but about ‘fairness and parity across the board’.

It also pointed to the department’s senior salary structure, noting the Head of Operations Public Transport role sits between £76,761 and £89,480, with senior leadership roles stretching well into six-figure territory.

Those figures, it says, are published and structured, and drivers want the same clarity and consistency applied to their pay.

But it’s not just pounds and pence causing raised eyebrows.

The council has also questioned how fatigue is being managed under the contingency timetable.

Today’s schedule shows services running from 7.05am to 8.15pm, prompting concerns about how many drivers are covering those shifts and whether duty lengths have been properly assessed in what it describes as a safety-critical public service.

The DOI insists Bus Vannin continues to provide a ‘compliant and safe’ service and thanked those delivering the contingency timetable while Unite the Union members remain on strike.