Stagecoach Merseyside bus drivers to strike over pay offer

Unite said the strikes were "a last resort" while Stagecoach said it had "put forward a good offer"

Dozens of bus drivers and engineers are to go on strike on Merseyside after a union accused an operator of "failing to make workers a fair pay offer".

Bus firm Stagecoach said it had offered all employees at its Gillmoss depot in Liverpool a 9.5% increase.

However, the union Unite said the company had "refused to make an offer which meets members' expectations".

The industrial action, which will affect all services from the depot, will take place on 30 June and 4 July.

A spokesman for the union said the firm's profits had "dramatically increased" and drivers wanted a deal which raises "the current pay rate of just £12.69 an hour".

'Further talks'

Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said the company "can easily afford to pay its workers a decent wage but it is choosing not to".

Regional officer Dave Roberts added that the strikes were "a last resort", which, "even at this late stage... can be avoided if Stagecoach makes a reasonable pay offer".

A Stagecoach spokeswoman said that even with the "continuing impact of the pandemic on bus use", the firm had "offered a 9.5% pay increase for all employees at Gillmoss this year, with a further inflationary rise in 2023".

Stagecoach Merseyside's managing director Matt Davies said the firm was "having further talks with Unite this morning to try and reach a solution".

He said the company was "very sensitive" to the rising living costs for employees and was also "facing pressures from rising fuel and energy bills, as well as increased supply chain costs", but had "put forward a good offer".

The firm spokeswoman added that if the strikes go ahead, all services from Gillmoss would not run, but services to Liverpool from Wirral, Southport and Preston will be unaffected.