Limited West Midlands bus services after drivers reject offer

The drivers work for local bus services, not the white coach division

An indefinite strike by thousands of bus drivers will go ahead from Sunday night after a pay offer was rejected.

Some 3,100 members of Unite, employed by National Express in the West Midlands, are set to walkout.

A limited service, mainly serving major hospitals, would run after drivers "rejected the improved offer of a 14.3% pay increase", said National Express.

Unite said drivers did "incredibly hard jobs" and a better offer would help the firm retain and attract staff.

The drivers work for local bus services, not its white coach division, which is not affected.

Unite has said the action would affect 93% of the bus network. It had recommended members to reject the deal, which it claimed had "more strings attached than a grand piano".

Services are expected to start being affected from about 22:30 GMT on Sunday, said National Express, adding routes and running times will be shown on its website.

"We are sorry for the disruption that this will cause across the West Midlands. Our advice to customers is not to try to travel on our buses unless you really need to.

"As the week goes on, we hope to add back in more services so please check our website for the latest information."

It was working with partners to minimise the impact and was "seeking to bring a speedy resolution to the strike".

The firm said its offer included increases to Christmas and New Year pay and accident pay, and brought experienced driver's salary up to nearly £33,000.

Engineers had voted to accept a pay offer, it said.

Unite members voted 71% in favour of industrial action.

"National Express is an extremely wealthy company and makes considerable profits from the hard work of our members, who are not paid enough for the difficult and stressful job they do," said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

"The company must come back with an offer our members can accept."

Unite national officer Onay Kasab added: "Our members are clear the offer needs to improve to reflect rising prices and the incredibly hard job they do.

"This will also benefit West Midlands bus services as it will help solve National Express' recruitment and retention problems."