Bus disruption as South Yorkshire Stagecoach workers strike

Unite said members had voted to take strike action in a dispute over pay

Hundreds of bus drivers have gone on strike over a pay dispute bringing disruption to services.

More than 560 Stagecoach employees, based in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham, supported the action after a pay offer from the firm was rejected.

Strikes in Barnsley and Rotherham are set to run until 4 December and in Sheffield until 5 December.

Stagecoach said a number of services would not run except for dedicated school buses.

According to the union, Stagecoach offered its South Yorkshire workers a 2% pay rise, which it said was well below what the firm had offered employees in other areas of the country.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Stagecoach made profits touching £60m last year... yet it cannot make a decent offer to its staff."

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Stagecoach Yorkshire's managing director, Phil Medlicott, said he was disappointed with the union's response.

He said workers had been offered a 4.5% increase to the hourly pay rate.

"We know that our employees deserve a good pay rise and we have left no stone unturned in our attempts to reach a settlement," he added.

A company spokesperson said: "We have worked very hard to avoid this action and are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause."

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