Merseyside bus drivers announce all-out strike - Stagecoach walkout dates and affected routes

Stagecoach drivers and engineers in Merseyside have announced they will embark on all-out strike action over a pay dispute.

Three-hundred and seventy members of workers’ union Unite held an initial day of strike action at the company’s Gilmoss depot in Liverpool on Monday.

The union said its members will now take continuous strike action from July 20 after Stagecoach’s failure to make an improved offer. There will also be one-day strikes on July 15 and July 18.

A planned strike was cancelled on Thursday June 30, to allow workers to vote on the company’s previous pay offer.

However, Unite said members “overwhelmingly decided” that it did not meet their expectations. Stagecoach said it had made “a reasonable offer in these difficult times” of a 10.3% rise.

What’s been said

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Stagecoach is a wealthy company – it can easily afford to pay fairly and Unite is determined to ensure that it does.

“Our members simply want the rate for the job and are not going to accept being underpaid a moment longer. Stagecoach’s refusal to make an offer that would resolve this dispute has, however, resulted in an escalation in industrial action.

“Unite will be giving our members the union’s complete support until they receive an acceptable pay increase.”

Matt Davies, managing director of Stagecoach Merseyside, said: “We have continued to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to reach a fair settlement. It is deeply frustrating that Unite has firmly blocked our olive branch.

“We remain 100% committed to reaching an agreement with Unite, but that can only be achieved by talking and with commitment and flexibility on both sides.”

“It’s difficult to understand how the union can in one breath recommend our above-inflation pay offer and in the next call an all-out strike.”

Unite regional officer Dave Roberts said: “Stagecoach has brought this dispute on itself by its refusal to make an offer which meets members’ expectations.

“Even at this late stage, the increased strike action and the resulting disruption this will cause to passengers can still be avoided if Stagecoach returns to the negotiating table and makes an improved offer.”

What bus and coach routes will be affected?

Planned industrial action by 370 members of Unite at Stagecoach’s Gilmoss depot means the majority of their services in Liverpool will not operate.

The strike will affect services 10A, 14, 17, 19, 20/21, 53, 82, 86/86C, 97/98, 204, 217.

All school/college/work services – 686, 715, 720, 771, 772, 782, 793, 800, 835, 881, will also not operate.

Stagecoach services 1/X1, X2 & 471/472 operating from other depots into Liverpool will operate as normal.

What happens next?

The strike action from July 20 will continue until the pay dispute is settled.

Unite say Stagecoach bus drivers are paid just £12.69 an hour.

The strike dates have been announced to coincide with those already announced for Unite’s members at Arriva in the North West, in a dispute also about pay.