Stagecoach North East strike suspended following improved pay offer to union members
A further strike this week by Stagecoach North East workers has been suspended due to an improved pay offer.
Unite, the UK’s leading union, will be balloting the local workers on the new offer over the coming days, but planned strike action scheduled for Thursday 21 August will now no longer take place.
If the offer is rejected, indefinite strike action will go ahead from 31 August, with Unite regional officer Dave Telford commenting: “Following an improved offer from Stagecoach North East, Unite has suspended the strike on 21 August in order to ballot our members.”
Originally, approximately 600 bus workers including drivers and engineers were set to strike over two days, with union representatives saying that previous pay offers did not offer workers pay parity with colleagues doing the same job for Stagecoach in other parts of the country.
It was previously claimed that, while drivers in Manchester earn £17.54 per hour, people doing the same job in Tyne and Wear earned £15.01.