Stagecoach East Scotland confirmed today (07 October 2021) that it has made a fresh pay offer covering employees in Tayside to trade union Unite in a bid to break the deadlock and reach an agreement.
A new deal has been put to Unite covering employees based at the company’s bus depots in Perth, Blairgowrie, Arbroath and Forfar.
Employees have been offered a pay increase of 2.4%, backdated to 1 September 2021. As part of the deal, an additional one-off payment of £385 would also be made to staff employed prior to 1 September.
In addition, a new higher pay rate would be put in place for new start drivers from 4 October 2021 to help their career path in the sector.
Employees at the Stagecoach East Scotland Tayside depots covered by the discussions are set to formally vote on the new offer today (Thursday 7 October).
David Frenz, Operations Director at Stagecoach East Scotland, said: "Buses are a lifeline for local people across Tayside. We are committed to ensuring our people who keep our communities connected are properly rewarded, particularly after their contribution to the country over the past 18 months of the pandemic.
“We have worked tirelessly to protect the jobs of our people during the pandemic and have done everything we reasonably can to hold constructive discussions with Unite to reach a sensible and sustainable pay agreement across our bus depots.
“We are leaving no stone unturned in a bid to reach a settlement. That is why we have put a fresh pay offer to Unite which would give employees a pay rise of 2.4%, as well as other improvements.”
Bus services are facing a continuing challenging financial environment with passenger levels significantly down on pre-Covid levels. Passenger fares are significantly short of what is needed to cover the day-to-day costs of running services without Scottish Government support.
Mr Frenz added: “We would urge Unite to end the uncertainty for our people and the customers who rely on bus services.
“Strike action is completely unnecessary and would simply damage the lives and livelihoods of hard-working people, including our employees, as well as the region’s businesses. We would urge Unite to put communities first and talk, not walk.”
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach UK Bus is part of the Stagecoach Group and is one of the largest bus operators in the UK, operating express and local bus services across the country.
