Arriva Cymru: Bus drivers agree £12/hour pay deal following strikes

Arriva bus drivers in north Wales will get a pay increase after agreeing a rate of £12 an hour.

Unite union members working for Arriva Cymru accepted the offer after a ballot of more than 400 drivers.

The agreement follows five days of strike action in November, when workers called for "parity" with higher paid colleagues in parts of England.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said the union would not accept "poverty pay rates".

Arriva has said it is "pleased" its latest pay offer has been accepted.

The hundreds of drivers affected are based at depots in Amlwch, Bangor, Hawarden, Llandudno, Rhyl and Wrexham. They had originally voted in favour of last month's strike, which could have lasted for five weeks.

Unite called for the pay increase to match the pay of Arriva colleagues in north-west England, who were paid £1.80 more an hour.

The bus strike lasted five days, from 14 to 18 November.

"This deal achieves Unite's aim of securing a £12 per hour for our members at Arriva Cymru," said Ms Graham.

"It is another example of Unite showing that it is not prepared to accept poverty pay rates for our members.

Jo Goodchild, Unite Regional Officer said the strike highlighted the "scourge of low pay, not just within Arriva Cymru but across the Welsh transport sector".

An Arriva Buses Wales spokesperson said: "We are pleased to say that our latest pay offer has been accepted and this means Arriva services will continue to operate as normal in Wales."