Hundreds of bus workers balloted on strike action

Bus services could face "delays and cancellations" if hundreds of workers back plans to strike, a union has said.

About 580 Unite members working at Stagecoach in Newcastle and Sunderland are being balloted on whether to strike after rejecting a 3.3% pay rise offer.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said its members deserved better than "years of pitiful, below-inflation pay increases".

Stagecoach said it was "disappointed by the threat of industrial actions" and it had made a "fair and responsible pay offer in line with the Consumer Prices Index".

Two separate ballots are being held for two different groups of Stagecoach workers.

Nearly 500 workers in Slatyford and Walkergate, in Newcastle, are voting on taking industrial action and have until 15 July to cast their ballot.

A further 80 engineers and cleaners at Busways Travel Services have until 24 July to vote in their own ballot.

Busways staff work across Stagecoach's four depots in Slatyford, Walkergate, Sunderland and South Shields.

If both groups agree to strike, action could take place at the same time and start as soon as next month.

Unite regional officer Dave Telford said: "Both strikes will be incredibly disruptive for passengers across the region, with delays and cancellations the norm during any industrial action.

"We appreciate this would be frustrating for passengers but this is completely the fault of Stagecoach.

"We urge it to come back to the table and negotiate a better deal for our members to avoid any disruption."

A spokesperson for Stagecoach North East said its pay offer ensured its teams "continue to earn above-average pay compared to other operators in the region".

"While we work hard to reward our people, we also have a responsibility to our customers to avoid passing on unreasonable cost increases," the spokesperson said.

"Our door remains open for constructive discussions with Unite to resolve this situation and avoid unnecessary disruption to local communities."

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