Bosses at the biggest bus company in Bristol, Bath and in Somerset said they are still ‘optimistic’ that a deal can be done with drivers over pay after a staff voted overwhelmingly to reject a pay offer and said they would be prepared to go on strike.
Members of the Unite union balloted members on First Bus management’s pay offer for this year, and across all six depots there was a majority of drivers who voted against it. A second ballot asked if drivers were prepared to take industrial action in their fight for better pay, and again the vast majority of drivers and staff at the First depots in Hengrove, Lawrence Hill, the central bus station in Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Bath and Wells in Somerset said they would.
Unite said the vote showed a ‘resounding no’ to the pay rise offered by First Bus, and they would now be pushing for a better pay deal. The vote comes after First Bus West of England boss Doug Claringbold outlined just how much of a challenge it was to recruit and retain bus drivers - with many being poached with massive pay rises to become lorry drivers in the past six months.
