Bus drivers in dispute talks

Further industrial action is planned for Friday

Bus drivers in two main unions have been holding talks with Translink in an attempt to avert further industrial action.

GMB and TGWU delegations were meeting with management on Wednesday in talks arbitrated by the Labour Relations Agency.

Translink had previously refused to take part in further negotiations with bus drivers' unions while staff continued to strike.

Another one-day strike is scheduled for this Friday as part of a planned series of stoppages over pay and conditions.

More than 1,700 bus drivers held a one-day strike last Friday, after the company failed to get a High Court injunction to block the action.

All Citybus and Ulsterbus services were off the road across 300 Translink routes, affecting about 180,000 passengers including 65,000 schoolchildren.

The drivers want a pay rise to compensate for loss of income caused by an EU directive limiting overtime.

The drivers' unions have said they are not happy with the current offer on the table because their members' wages were so low.

Drivers' basic salaries are about £13,500 which they supplement with overtime of about £5,000 a year.

But the new European directive will limit overtime hours, so unions want to raise the level of basic pay significantly.

The unions have planned further strikes on 31 October and 7 and 10 November.