Stagecoach services to resume as drivers weigh up new pay deal

Stagecoach drivers in the West of Scotland are set to return to work on Wednesday after the bus operator tabled a new pay offer.

More than 400 drivers at depots throughout Ayrshire have been on strike since 9 June, with action intended to continue until 21 July.

However the workers have been advised to return to work from 18 June, before a ballot on a new pay deal is held two days later.

The union Unite are understood to have advised members to accept the new deal, but details of the offer have not yet been revealed.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach West Scotland said: "Following further discussions between Stagecoach West Scotland and Unite the Union, all drivers have been advised to return to work at our Ayrshire depots on Wednesday 18 June.

"A ballot will take place on Friday 20 June on a deal which has been recommended for acceptance by Unite the Union.

"We thank our customers for their continued patience and will update further as soon as we are able to do so."

Siobhan McCready, Unite industrial officer, said: "Unite's members at Stagecoach West Scotland have fought hard to get an improved pay offer on the table.

"Strike action has now been suspended as an act of good faith while members are balloted on the new offer."

The resumption of normal service will see a full service return throughout Ardrossan, Arran, and Kilmarnock.

In Ayr, all routes will operate, but with a reduced frequency, and the bus operator advised passengers to check its social media on Wednesday for updates.

Unite and Stagecoach have been locked in a pay dispute for months, with the union saying the company had not offered any improvement on a 4% pay rise offer from last November - a proposal Unite had described as "unacceptable".

Three separate 24 hour strikes had been held by Unite throughout May and June regarding the dispute.

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

But the bus company insisted it could not increase offers without risking the viability of services in the region.

The bus drivers' strike in Ayrshire could be coming towards its end.

This has been a major confrontation between the Unite union and the local branch of Stagecoach.

No details of the revised pay offer have been made public.

But Unite is likely to see the very fact a new offer was made as a significant development and evidence that the strike was having an impact.

It argued that Stagecoach was sticking to a pay offer made last year.

Drivers will vote on Friday on whether to accept the offer.

But they will return to work from Wednesday – pending this decision.

The strike has caused a great deal of disruption to local services in Ayrshire and proved difficult for some who depend on bus services – including the elderly and those who don't have cars.