A planned strike of Stagecoach bus drivers next week has been cancelled after a new pay deal was agreed.
Around 370 staff from the company's Gilmoss depot on the East Lancashire Road were due to walk out on for a continuous set of strikes from Wednesday next week in a dispute over pay. Strikes were also due to take place today and on Monday, but they were suspended earlier this week after a provisional pay deal was agreed.
Now it has been confirmed that Unite union members have voted to accept the new deal, meaning the strike action has been cancelled. A note on the Stagecoach website today reads: "Following a ballot amongst Unite members at Gillmoss depot on revised pay proposals, we can confirm that an agreement has now been reached, and therefore, the proposed Industrial Action to take place at Gillmoss depot from Wednesday 20 th July has now been cancelled. We are pleased to advise customers that all services in Liverpool will operate as normal."
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Unite confirmed the news but said more details about the agreement would be released next week. The deal could put pressure on Arriva bosses, with bus drivers in Merseyside and across the north west working for the company currently still set to walk out on Wednesday.
The agreement for a pay deal between Stagecoach and Unite came initially after extensive negotiations held on Wednesday July 13. Unite regional officer Dave Roberts said: “Following a significantly improved offer from Stagecoach, Unite has suspended the two forthcoming one day strikes in order to ballot its members on the new offer.”
That pay deal has now been accepted by members, meaning the proposed continuous walk outs from Wednesday are now off. This could put pressure on rival operator Arriva, which has its own industrial action set to take place next week.
As things stand, the Arriva strikes are set to begin on Wednesday after talks between the company and union bosses stalled. Unite says its members are striking over a 'pitiful' pay offer from the German-owned transport giant of just 3% with no strings attached, or 6% which included reductions in sick pay and loss of Saturday enhanced pay.
An Arriva spokesperson today said: "We are deeply disappointed by this totally unjustified strike action, due to begin on July 20. We urge Unite and GMB to work with us to agree a way forward, rather than moving the goalposts on a previously recommended pay deal which met the Union’s aspirations for their members."
The depots involved in the Arriva dispute are: Birkenhead, Bolton, Bootle, Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester, Runcorn, Southport, Speke, St Helens, and Winsford. Pay rates for bus drivers differ between the various depots but the union cited that drivers at Winsford, for example, are paid just £11.08 an hour. The GMB union is also involved in the industrial dispute.
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