Bus driver strike postponed after new pay offer

First Bus services in Bristol's city centre were due to be disrupted

A thousand bus drivers across the West have suspended their strike action while they consider revised pay offers.

About 600 First West of England drivers, who operate City Line buses out of Bristol's Lawrence Hill and Hengrove depots, were due to walk out from 4 to 8 September.

The postponed strike follows pay negotiations between First Bus and the Unite union.

Following this, another 400 drivers who work on buses between the city and Somerset have also called off their strike, planned for the same dates, to consider the revised offers.

Several inner-city bus routes, such as services to Bristol Airport and Amazon's Bristol warehouse, could have been disrupted if the City Line strike had gone ahead.

The dispute comes after City Line drivers rejected a two-year pay deal which Unite said would give them an extra £1 of pay per hour from now until March 2026.

The 400 drivers who took the second vote work for First's Badgerline out of the depots at Bristol Marlborough Street, Bath, Wells and Weston-Super-Mare.

The company is part of First Group, which last year recorded an operating profit of £204.3m.

'Avoiding disruption'

Unite regional officer Ken Fish said: "Following an improved offer from First West of England City Line, Unite has suspended industrial action due to take place later this week so workers can have their say."

Doug Claringbold, managing director for First Bus in the West of England said he was "pleased" the decision had been taken to postpone the walkout.

"We have always committed to working with Unite to try and settle this dispute to avoid unnecessary disruption to customers," he said.

"We hope for a favourable outcome so we're able to keep our buses on the road and continue serving our customers."