Bridgeway - The road to justice

A two-day Tribunal Hearing was scheduled for this month was expected to see a Judge determine whether Bridgeway acted illegally in deceiving members and reps during last year’s TUPE consultation.

Due to the large volume of evidence, this has been put back to November and an extended hearing. The Judge will decide whether Bridgeway are forced to pay compensation up to thirteen weeks’ pay for each member of staff for failing to consult on plans to rip up our recognition agreement and to hit staff with fines of thousands of pounds after accidental damage to company vans and equipment.

Our legal advice is clear that the recognition agreement transferred under the TUPE regulations because the group of staff who transferred have kept their identity. However, unless Bridgeway begin to act reasonably, members will not be able to rely on legal processes to win the right to negotiate this year’s pay.

We don't need to wait for a legal judgement to know that Bridgeway can change their minds and work with us!

This January, we reported our first major victory in TSSA members’ struggle for justice at Bridgeway. Your collective grievance successfully forced the company  drop their policy of unlimited fines for accidental damage to company vans and other property. This month, company bosses have written to your union to reject our request to discuss your pay from the 1 March anniversary and to rip up our collective bargaining agreement.

Members asked to work together to force Bridgeway to back down

Members will be asked to come together to defeat Bridgeway’s unjust and unprecedented attacks on your pay, conditions and collective rights. Look out for an invitation to our referendum survey to share your ideas and support an effective course of action to ensure that Bridgeway don’t succeed in dividing members and cutting your conditions. We will be seeking support from reps and members across CEFA and the wider industry to support members whose terms and conditions are under attack by their employer.

We also need to understand members’ concerns and experiences. For example, the safety culture appears to be extremely alarming and requires urgent intervention by union reps with statutory rights to keep staff and the public safe.

Your right to defend your living standards

Amey staff and those working on CEFA contract who TUPE transferred from Amey in 2021 were due a pay increase on 1 March, a time when RPI reached 7.8%; the highest in thirty years! Our reps submitted claims for improvements to pay and conditions to CEFA employers to ensure that, despite fragmentation, wages keep pace with inflation so that your living standards aren’t threatened by economic pressures.

Amey agreed to sit down for pay talks starting on 22 March, Xeiad have acknowledged our claim and our right to negotiate on behalf of CEFA staff who transferred from Amey under TUPE last year. Bridgeway’s HR Director responded to say that they refuse to accept that your union recognition transferred with you and, even if it was, your collective agreement is terminated:

“For the avoidance of doubt, TSSA is derecognised, and there is no right for TSSA to collectively bargain on behalf of any of our staff, nor is there any requirement for Bridgeway to respond to TSSA’s information request”

Bridgeway bosses have shown that union members cannot be complacent when it comes to protecting our agreements from attacks by unscrupulous employers. While most rail bosses accept that they have to maintain some level of respect and cooperation with our members, Bridgeway prove that there will always be ruthless bosses who believe the rules do not apply to them.

TSSA members must not let Bridgeway bosses off the hook.

Look out for more information and your chance to have a say in how we hold Bridgeway bosses to account.