Stagecoach drivers given pay rise

Stagecoach staff have held strike action

A bus firm hit by ongoing strike action is to give 650 drivers a 4.5% pay increase, it has been announced.

Thousands of schoolchildren in north east Scotland and the Highlands were affected by the first Stagecoach strike over pay on Tuesday.

Stagecoach said drivers would receive the pay increase from Monday.

A T&G Unite spokesman said the increase "imposed" on members was "part-payment" of its pay claim. Further strike action is planned for 21 and 24 November.

Other staff at the bus firm have previously accepted a pay deal.

'Part payment'

A Stagecoach spokesman said: "We have been trying to get the union to resolve this pay dispute since March and we are very conscious that our employees have faced rising household bills during this period as a result of the tough economic climate.

"We have taken the decision to increase the pay rate in the interests of the majority of staff who have continued to work normally."

T&G Unite regional industrial organiser John Taylor said: "I have been informed that it is the company's intention to impose a wage increase upon our members.

"We would like to thank the company for this part payment of our reasonable wage claim."

Aberdeenshire Council said about 4,000 pupils were affected by the strike on Tuesday, and Highland Council said several of the region's schools were also hit by the disruption.

Stagecoach owner Brian Souter was among those drafted in to drive a bus in Aberdeen during the strike.

The operator said 160 staff from elsewhere in the UK had arrived in the north of Scotland to help provide a "comprehensive network of services to customers".