City Bus Drivers Vote To Strike Over Pay

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Chloe AslettYorkshire


Bus services in Doncaster are due to be disrupted after more than 230 drivers 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 turning down a deal which did not provide them pay parity with coworkers in Sheffield, the Unite union stated.


Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated the business could afford to pay its drivers in Doncaster the very same amount and was "picking to put profits over people".


Zoe Hands, managing director of First Bus in the area, stated the offer of a 7% increase backdated to January 2026 was "amongst the best chauffeur pay offers this year".


"We are extremely dissatisfied and saddened at the decision to proceed with strikes," she stated, including that the company "identified the strength of sensation" on the problem.


"We stay dedicated to working constructively with Union representatives to reach a reasonable and sustainable arrangement," Hands stated.


"Our door stays open up 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 runs numerous paths affecting the city centre.


The dates clash with the 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 punished for working a few miles down the roadway.


"This unjust circumstance can't continue and Unite is requiring First Bus treats its hard-working motorists fairly."


Unite stated FirstGroup was "highly lucrative", with incomes of ₤ 833.6 m for the 6 months to September 2025, and could manage to fulfill the strikers' demands.


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