City Bus Drivers Vote To Strike Over Pay
7 days ago
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Chloe AslettYorkshire
Bus services in Doncaster are because of be disrupted after more than 230 chauffeurs voted to take industrial action over pay.
First Bus chauffeurs in the city will go on strike on 28 and 30 March, and 7, 22 and 24 April after declining an offer which did not provide them pay parity with associates in Sheffield, the Unite union stated.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated the company could afford to pay its chauffeurs in Doncaster the same and was "choosing to put earnings over people".
Zoe Hands, handling director of First Bus in the region, said the offer of a 7% increase backdated to January 2026 was "among the very best driver pay deals this year".
"We are extremely disappointed and saddened at the decision to go on with strikes," she said, including that the company "identified the strength of feeling" on the concern.
"We remain committed to working constructively with Union agents to reach a reasonable and sustainable arrangement," Hands said.
"Our door stays open to continue discussions and avoid unneeded commercial action."
'Unfair situation'
The Unite members involved in the dispute work at the Doncaster Bus Depot on Leger Way, which operates several paths impacting the city centre.
The dates clash with the Easter holidays and events at Doncaster Racecourse consisting of the opener of the British flat racing season, the William Hill Lincoln Handicap.
Regional officer Christian Ratcliffe stated: "Unite members in Doncaster should not be economically penalised for working a couple of miles down the roadway.
"This unjust situation can't continue and Unite is requiring First Bus treats its hard-working motorists relatively."
Unite stated FirstGroup was "highly lucrative", with incomes of ₤ 833.6 m for the six months to September 2025, and could manage to meet the strikers' demands.
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