Stagecoach drivers begin six-week strike as pay dispute rolls on

Bus drivers in the West of Scotland are beginning a six-week strike against their employers in an escalation of an ongoing pay dispute, BBC reports.

More than 400 Stagecoach drivers at depots in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan and Kilmarnock will not return to work until 21 July, with the operator running a limited service as a result.

The Unite union said the action was due to the company not offering any improvement on a "simply unacceptable" 4% offer from last November.

Stagecoach said any pay offer had to preserve the viability of bus services in the area.

Unite previously held three separate 24 hour strikes in May and June, but the latest action escalates the dispute by running consecutively for six weeks.

The union has claimed the drivers involved are among the poorest paid across Stagecoach's UK operations.

Siobhan McCready, an industrial officer at Unite, said the most recent Stagecoach offer had strings attached to it.

She stated: "The drivers are being asked to fund a pay rise by working longer hours, taking longer unpaid breaks and losing a week of annual leave.

"This is simply unacceptable, and it will not be tolerated by Unite."

Ms McCready added that the prolonged action could be ended if Stagecoach listened to workers.

Kelly Ann Bigham, 31, lives in Darvel in East Ayrshire. Her daughter Alana, who is almost two, attends a nursery in Kilmarnock and she's worried the strike will stop her getting there.

"By the sounds of things, they have taken the Number 9 Stewarton and the Number 3 Onthank buses off.

"Alana goes two days a week but she loves it and has got wee friends there."

She also meets a family member in town on Tuesdays while Alana is in nursery, so the strike will affect her own contact with other people.

"If they don't sort this out my daughter will miss nursery for six weeks. I hope the staff come to an arrangement quickly and get the buses back to normal," she said.

Stagecoach said passengers should check its website for updates to services throughout the strike.

Services in Cumbernauld and Dumfries and Galloway are unaffected by the industrial action.

The company said it would aim to keep as many services running by working with drivers from other companies.

A spokesperson said: "Regrettably, the industrial action will disrupt our services and inconvenience our customers.

"We're working hard to minimise the impact of this disruption, but unfortunately, the limited services we're running will affect customers travelling in and around Ayrshire."

The company previously stated it was committed to reaching a "fair and sustainable agreement – one that supports our employees while ensuring the long-term viability of our services across west Scotland."