Stagecoach brand planned strike action in Mansfield ‘shameless attack on bus passengers’

Stagecoach East Midlands has criticised the RMT union for a ‘shameless attack on bus passengers’ after informing the company of planned strike action over pay.

The strikes come less than a year after previous industrial action was announced.

However the strike was suspended after union members accepted a pay offer from Stagecoach.

And it comes as rail workers announce planned strike action on July 27.

Employees at the company's Mansfield depot, on Sutton Road, and in Worksop, which employ a total of 320 drivers and engineers, have been offered a two-year deal which would give them a 13.2 per cent pay increase, with 9.7 per cent uplift in the first 12 months.

It is the third pay offer the company has put to the RMT, but Stagecoach claims the union has ‘refused to allow’ its members to vote on any of the offers.

Instead, the union has informed Stagecoach its members plan to take strike action on July 26 and August 2, 9 and 16.

Matt Cranwell, Stagecoach East Midlands managing director, said: "The RMT's planned strike action is a shameless attack on bus passengers, which will disrupt people trying to get to work and access vital public services, as well as damaging local businesses.

“The fact is, even in these difficult times, we have offered a substantial pay increase which would give our people a rise of close to 10 per cent within 12 months, with further rises the next year.

“They would also continue to benefit from good holiday entitlement, pension and other benefits.

“We have now made three offers to the union, none of which have been put to a democratic vote by RMT members.

“People will be questioning why their vital bus services are being needlessly disrupted when employees have been denied a voice on our proposals.

“We are committed to securing the best deal possible for our people, while also protecting the future sustainability of the bus network.

“We remain open for talks, the only route to reaching agreement and securing improved pay for our people.

"We urge the union to return to talks, so we can deliver a deal in the best interests of everyone, without damaging disruption to our communities.”