Bus drivers in Leeds are threatening to strike again next Monday, June 20.
Staff at First’s depots in Bramley and Hunslet are planning a second one-day strike over pay, following yesterday’s strike which caused chaos for many commuters and longer travelling times on congested roads.
Bus drivers and hosts in the Unite Union have rejected the latest 3% offer from First management. The strike, which affects more than 1,000 employees in First Leeds, meant three quarters of services in the city were be cancelled.
One Farnley resident told the Dispatch:
“I walked to and from my home to work in the city centre yesterday, which took me an hour and half each time. Although First said the number four bus would be hourtly, I didn’t see one going wither way down Tong Road or Pudsey Road, so not sure they stuck to that.
“Apart from getting soaked on the way home I didn’t mind doing it, but I’d rather not do it again!”
Unite claims the bus workers operating out of the Bramley and Hunslet Park depots in Leeds are among the lowest paid in First Bus’s Yorkshire operations with colleagues in Halifax earning up to £2 an hour more.
Paul Matthews, managing director of First Leeds, said the company was disappointed by the strike action but remained committed to resolving the dispute.