Arriva bus drivers subject to verbal abuse and bricks through windows are set to receive a "slap in the face" real-terms pay cut amid rising inflation.
The majority of Arriva North West bus services are cancelled across Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester as drivers walk out over a below-inflation pay rise offered by the firm. On the picket line outside the Arriva Merseyside Bus Depot on Green Lane in Old Swan, members of union Unite are encouraged by the success of Arriva Yorkshire drivers in securing an improved pay rise of 9% - up from an offer of 4.1% - after a combined eight weeks of strike.
Union representative Ged Bresnahan, 62, said there are "some characters in the garage jollying everyone up", and there are plenty of biscuits, tea and coffee, and the honking horns of passing cars to keep spirits high. He told the ECHO: "All we're after is a fair pay for the job we're doing."
