Stagecoach Merseyside bus workers announce all-out strike

Unite previously said the strikes in Liverpool were "a last resort"

Hundreds of Merseyside bus workers are to stage an all-out strike as a pay dispute intensifies.

Members of the Unite trade union at Stagecoach began industrial action in the region on Monday.

The union said its members would take full, continuous strike action from 20 July because management had failed to make an improved pay offer. There will also be strikes on 15 and 18 July.

The company said it remained committed to reaching a "fair settlement".

'Frustrating'

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Stagecoach is a wealthy company, it can easily afford to pay fairly and Unite is determined to ensure that it does.

"Our members simply want the rate for the job and are not going to accept being underpaid a moment longer.

"Stagecoach's refusal to make an offer that would resolve this dispute has, however, resulted in an escalation in industrial action."

Matt Davies, managing director of Stagecoach Merseyside, said: "We have continued to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to reach a fair settlement.

"It is deeply frustrating that Unite has firmly blocked our olive branch.

"We remain 100% committed to reaching an agreement with Unite, but that can only be achieved by talking and with commitment and flexibility on both sides."

He said it was "difficult to understand how the union can in one breath recommend our above-inflation pay offer and in the next call an all-out strike".

Mr Davies said Stagecoach had "put together a balanced package that delivers a very fair pay rise for our people and seeks to protect critical investment in improvements for bus passengers, as well as the ongoing sustainability of the bus network".

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