Arriva bus drivers announce new 10-day strike in pay row

Unite says the drivers are the second-lowest paid among Arriva's national workforce

Hundreds of Arriva bus drivers are to stage a further 10 days of strike action in a dispute over pay.

About 650 workers in Teesside, County Durham and parts of North Yorkshire will take industrial action from 27 January to 5 February as part of their call for a wage rise of £1 per hour, backdated to March 2018.

They are currently on a week-long strike, which will finish at midnight.

Arriva previously said it had offered "considerable concessions".

The affected drivers are based at Darlington, Durham, Redcar, Stockton and Whitby.

Further talks between the company and the union are set to take place on Thursday.

Unite regional officer Bob Bolam, said: "We will be entering into these talks in a constructive and positive frame of mind.

"We won't be commenting further until those negotiations have concluded."

The drivers rejected an offer before Christmas, which included 75p on the hourly rate over two years, in four instalments.

Ahead of the the current strike, Arriva labelled Unite's claim the drivers were the second-lowest paid in the country "false".

An emergency timetable has been operating since Sunday.