Bus drivers in new strike action

First drivers are staging a second 24-hour walk-out

A bus company has apologised to its customers after hundreds of bus drivers in east central Scotland took part in a second 24-hour stoppage over pay.

First drivers in Stirling, Falkirk, Edinburgh and the Lothians are seeking a pay rise from the current rates of £7.25 and £7.40 to one of £8 an hour.

Last week, 600 workers walked out in the pay row, affecting about 100,000 people who use the services.

Juliette Turner, of First Scotland East, said the action was unnecessary.

She added: "We have informed the unions that the only way we as a commercial company could meet their new demands would be by cutting services within our operating area.

We remain willing to continue negotiations, but only if the union is able to put forward reasonable demands on behalf of its members Juliette Turner First Scotland East

"That is not something we are prepared to do. The end result would be job losses and loss of vital public transport links for people in the local communities for the Lothians.

"We remain willing to continue negotiations, but only if the union is able to put forward reasonable demands on behalf of its members."

First Scotland East said it was not possible to implement the pay rise immediately or back date it as the unions wanted but it said it would continue to do all it could to bring the negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion.

Union's message

Officials at the T&G union said last week's action had "a major impact" on services.

Sandy Smart, regional industrial organiser, said an estimated 600 to 800 drivers were taking part in Tuesday's action, which started at about 0400 BST.

Mr Smart said the company seemed willing to negotiate but wanted the union to change its demands.

He added: "Our message is that we believe that they can afford it.

"We know that they are part of a huge multinational company that is extremely profitable and making a lot of money for the shareholder and we just want them to give some of that back to the driver."