Arriva bus strike called off as pay deal reached

Strike action by workers at Arriva will no longer take place on 30 September

Industrial action by bus workers will no longer go ahead after a pay offer was accepted by a ballot.

Strike action affecting Arriva services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire was called off after about 900 workers accepted a "vastly improved" pay offer, the union Unite said.

It said the new deal meant drivers' pay would rise by between 10% and 11.1%.

Arriva Bus Company said it was "very pleased" an agreement had been reached.

It means that strikes at Luton, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Ware, Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead scheduled for 30 September will no longer go ahead.

Unite said the new deal would see drivers' pay "lifted" by 11.1% in Hertfordshire and by 10.4% in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Previously Arriva had been offering pay rises of between 4% and 6%.

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: "Our members secured this vastly improved deal by standing together in their union.

"As well as a percentage pay rise, the deal also includes an agreement that there will be parity on the top rate of pay within two years across the seven depots involved in the dispute."

An Arriva spokeswoman said: "We are very pleased for our customers and colleagues across the Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire regions that we have been able to reach an agreement with Unite, which brings confidence back to our bus network in this region."

Unite added that Arriva strikes in Kent, scheduled for 30 September, were still going ahead.

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