Over 380 bus drivers employed by Stagecoach West and based throughout Gloucestershire and Wiltshire have announced a month long strike in a dispute over chronic low pay.

Cheltenham Festival

Strike action, which was backed overwhelmingly by the drivers who are members of Unite the union, will begin on Thursday 10 March and continue until Saturday 9 April coinciding with the Cheltenham Festival.  The strike is set to cause considerable disruption to the event as Stagecoach has the contract to take festival goers to and from the racecourse.

With many drivers paid under £11 per hour, Unite has been pressing for an increase in line with real inflation, currently at 7.8 per cent.  However, Stagecoach has tabled offers that are in effect pay cuts.

It is the first time ever that the drivers have voted for industrial action.

Significant pay rise

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite has given Stagecoach West every opportunity to make a fair pay offer to avoid strike action but it has failed to do so. 

 “Our members at Stagecoach West have made it very clear that they will accept nothing less than a significant pay rise and they have Unite’s full support in this fight.

 “Stagecoach has to get real – it’s time to table a serious offer.”

Depots affected

The strike action will affect all of Stagecoach West’s service operating from the Bristol, Cheltenham, Coalway, Gloucester, Stroud, and Swindon depots.

Following the initial ballot, Unite paused announcing industrial action for a fortnight to give the management at Stagecoach West the opportunity to reflect on the overwhelming votes in favour of strike action and to make a vastly improved pay offer. The company failed to grasp this opportunity to avoid strike action.

Stagecoach West’s parent company is extremely profitable. Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, its accounts reveal that the group made a profit of £58.4 million and it has £875 million of available liquidity.

Strike action is last resort

Unite regional officer Shevaun Hunt said: “Our members are taking strike action as a last resort because Stagecoach has refused to listen. Industrial action will inevitably cause severe disruption to passengers throughout Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and especially during the Cheltenham Festival.

 “Even now strike action could be avoided if Stagecoach West was prepared to return to the negotiating table and make an offer which meets the drivers’ expectations.”

Bus driver shortages

There is a growing shortage of bus drivers throughout the UK. A survey of Unite members revealed that 99 per cent of depots had shortages and that low pay was identified as the primary reason for workers leaving the profession.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

 Swindon bus workers’ overwhelmingly vote to join Stagecoach dispute over low pay

 During the coronavirus crisis Unite is working to keep workers and the public safe, to defend jobs and to protect incomes.

For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite senior communications officer Barckley Sumner on 07802 329235 or 0203 371 2067.

Email: [email protected]

Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.