Arriva bus drivers settle pay row and call off 10-day strike

Unite had claimed its drivers were the second-lowest paid among Arriva's national workforce

Hundreds of Arriva bus drivers have called off 10 days of strike action after settling a pay dispute.

About 650 workers in Teesside, County Durham and parts of North Yorkshire were due to walk out from 27 January to 5 February in a bid to get a rise of £1 an hour.

A spokesman for the Unite Union said its members had voted late on Thursday to accept a revised pay offer.

Arriva said a new deal had been "hammered out" and it was "pleased."

Drivers who have halted the action were based at Darlington, Durham, Redcar, Stockton and Whitby.

Arriva said the drivers has accepted a "top rate" pay deal of £10.60 an hour.

'Positive result'

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

A Unite spokesman said: 'We can confirm that our members have voted to accept the revised pay offer. Our members will now be working normally.

"We would like to pay tribute for the strong solidarity they have shown during the course of this dispute."

Regional Arriva managing director, Nigel Featham, said: "In the end, everybody emerged with a positive result.

"Our passengers won't have their travel plans inconvenienced any longer, we've backed our drivers with a firm financial commitment and we return our focus to the daily operation of the business."