Mayor's plea after bus drivers threaten to strike

Drivers from across Greater Manchester's Bee Network will vote on whether or not to strike

Bus drivers in Greater Manchester need to keep negotiating with unions to reach "a reasonable solution" amid the threat of strike action, the region's mayor has said.

More than 2,000 drivers working for various bus companies under the publicly controlled Bee Network have rejected pay offers ranging between 3.5 and 6% following months of negotiations.

Unite said members working for Stagecoach, Metroline and First Bus Rochdale will vote on whether or not to strike in ballots that are set to close on 4 September.

Andy Burnham said while it was not the combined authority's role to negotiate over drivers' pay, he hoped strike action could be averted.

Despite the Bee Network being brought back under local control earlier this year, the network's bus drivers still work for different, sometimes national, companies and are subject to different pay negotiations.

Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester: "As the Bee Network, we will be making clear what we want is a fair resolution, fair to the people out there driving buses, it's not an easy thing to do.

"I think bus drivers have a fair call to say, for the work they do, they deserve a fairer reward."

Andy Burnham says bus companies need to reach a "reasonable solution" with drivers

But Burnham said the deal would need to recognise that the country and region were "not awash with money".

The union said its members working for Stagecoach and Metroline rejected a pay increase of 3.5% as it "doesn't address years of low pay, especially in the context of a cost-of-living crisis".

It has about 1,000 members working for each company.

Stagecoach Manchester's managing director Rob Jones said the company was "keen to hold further talks and reach a resolution and avoid strike action.

Metroline did not respond to a request for comment.

The union said members at First Bus Rochdale felt a pay offer of 6% did not go far enough to address the fact that "they have been the lowest paid in the region for years", on £15 an hour.

The bus company's general manager Paul Townley said the offer was "well above inflation" and would help drivers manage the rising cost of living.

He said industrial action was "not the way forward" and would be "damaging to everyone, causing severe disruption to the daily lives of our customers".