City Bus Drivers Vote To Strike Over Pay
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Chloe AslettYorkshire
Bus services in Doncaster are due to be interrupted after more than 230 drivers voted to take commercial 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 an offer which did not provide them pay parity with colleagues in Sheffield, the Unite union stated.
Unite basic secretary Sharon Graham said the might pay for to pay its chauffeurs in Doncaster the same quantity and was "choosing to put profits over people".
Zoe Hands, handling director of First Bus in the area, stated the offer of a 7% increase backdated to January 2026 was "among the best chauffeur pay deals this year".
"We are extremely disappointed and saddened at the choice to go on with strikes," she said, including that the company "acknowledged the strength of feeling" on the issue.
"We stay dedicated to working constructively with Union agents to reach a fair and sustainable agreement," Hands stated.
"Our door remains available to continue conversations and avoid unneeded commercial action."
'Unfair circumstance'
The Unite members involved in the disagreement work at the Doncaster Bus Depot on Leger Way, which operates several paths impacting the city centre.
The dates clash with the Easter vacations and occasions 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 few miles down the roadway.
"This unfair situation can't continue and Unite is requiring First Bus treats its hard-working chauffeurs relatively."
Unite stated FirstGroup was "extremely profitable", with earnings of ₤ 833.6 m for the six months to September 2025, and could pay for to satisfy the strikers' needs.
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