The industrial dispute at bus operator Arriva North West has been officially settled afterthe company put forward an 'unprecedented' pay offer.
Around 1,800 workers have voted to accept a 11.1% pay offer after 29 days of all-out industrial action.
Unite’s 2043 members across 11 Merseyside garages have voted overwhelmingly (by nearly 10 to one) to accept the 11.1 per cent offer, worth an additional average of £2300 on the workers’ salaries, equal to an extra £55 per week.
Hailing the victory, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Arriva North West’s German parent company could well afford to raise pay. We say to other employers, take note – where you can pay, you should do so.”
A previous offer of 9.6 per cent had been overwhelmingly rejected by four in five (80 per cent) of Unite members.
The dispute is now settled at all of the Arriva North West garages in Merseyside: Southport, Bootle, Green Lane, St Helens, Speke, Runcorn, Bolton, Wythenshawe, Winsford, Wirral and Macclesfield.
READ MORE: Stay up to date with our North West coverage
A statement from Arriva North West said: "We can confirm our latest pay offer has been accepted by Unite and GMB members, this means industrial action in now concluded and Arriva services will continue to operate as normal throughout the North West.
"The pay offer made is going to place challenges upon the sustainability of the network and we are focused on minimising that impact.
"Arriva would like to thank our customers across the North West region, for your continued patience in recent weeks, during the extremely challenging Strike period."
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