Potential disruption to bus services as drivers ballot for strikes

More than 1,000 drivers who work for First West of England, including at the Bath depot, could take strike action after rejecting an “unsatisfactory” pay offer.

The Weston Island bus depot in Bath | Photo © Stephen Sumner

Drivers are being balloted at the three Bristol depots – Bristol Bus Station, Lawrence Hill and Hengrove – which provide inner-city bus routes as well as services for Bristol Airport, the local universities and Amazon’s Bristol warehouse; the other three depots are the one at Weston Island in Bath, Wells and Weston-super-Mare.

The dispute comes after the drivers, who are members of the Unite union, rejected a two-year pay deal, which would give them £1 an hour extra of pay per hour from now until March 2026, then a 30p hourly increase from April 2026.

Unite says new starters will be offered 50p extra on the hourly rate, which goes up by just 10p next April.

Unite says the drivers will also lose out financially, as despite the pay anniversary date being April, First West of England has not committed to giving backpay for the past four months of the wage increase.

First West of England is part of First Group PLC, which last year had an operating profit of £204.3 million and share dividends were increased by 45% compared to the previous year.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said today: “This is yet another example of a profitable company prioritising greed and the needs of its shareholders over hardworking members who do a difficult job driving buses every day – Unite will not stand for this.

“Any disruption is entirely the fault of First West of England and our members will have Unite’s full support during this dispute.”

The ballot at Lawrence Hill and Hengrove closes on Tuesday 19th August, while the one at Bristol Bus Station, Bath, Weston-super-Mare and Wells closes on Thursday 21st August.

As First West of England is the main bus operator in Bristol, any industrial action is likely to be extremely disruptive with delays and cancellations of services expected.

Unite regional officer Amy Roberts said: “We appreciate local residents may be concerned to hear of potential strike action, but First West of England has failed to put forward a meaningful pay offer to our members. Drivers at First West of England do a vital job for the general public and deserve to be paid fairly.

“We urge First West of England to come back to the table with a better offer to avoid any disruption.”

Today Doug Claringbold, managing director for First Bus in the West of England, told the Echo: “We’re disappointed that Unite has chosen to ballot some employees for industrial action while we continue to engage in constructive negotiations.

“Our-above inflation pay offer reflects the value we put on colleagues and demonstrates our commitment to protecting staff from the rising cost of living – even in the challenging financial environment we operate in.

“We remain open to having constructive discussions at any time and urge Unite to continue these talks so we can reach a fair resolution for our colleagues and the customers across the area we serve.”