Bus disruption as South Yorkshire Stagecoach workers strike

Hundreds of bus drivers have gone on strike over a pay dispute bringing disruption to services.

More than 560 Stagecoach employees, based in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham, supported the action after a pay offer from the firm was rejected.

Strikes in Barnsley and Rotherham are set to run until 4 December and in Sheffield until 5 December.

Stagecoach said a number of services would not run except for dedicated school buses.

According to the union, Stagecoach offered its South Yorkshire workers a 2% pay rise, which it said was well below what the firm had offered employees in other areas of the country.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Stagecoach made profits touching £60m last year... yet it cannot make a decent offer to its staff."

Stagecoach Yorkshire's managing director, Phil Medlicott, said he was disappointed with the union's response.

He said workers had been offered a 4.5% increase to the hourly pay rate.

"We know that our employees deserve a good pay rise and we have left no stone unturned in our attempts to reach a settlement," he added.

A company spokesperson said: "We have worked very hard to avoid this action and are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or send video here.