Around 200 Unite members back double digit pay package
 
Unite the union has delivered a double digit pay deal for around 200 Stagecoach drivers across the Highlands and Islands, Scotland’s leading transport trade union confirmed today (18 November).
In the first year of the deal running from July 2024, drivers will receive a basic pay rise of around 7.5 per cent. Their pay package will be further boosted by overtime rates rising by up to five per cent, which for some drivers based on hours worked will mean a double digit pay rise.  
The driver hourly rate will increase by a minimum of two per cent or the rate of inflation in July 2025. Overtime rates will also rise from £16.50 to £17.50 in the second year of the deal.
The deal ensures that the minimum hourly rate will amount to the real living wage plus an additional three per cent. It means the minimum hourly rate increases from the current £12.98 to £14.28 in July 2025, which is the equivalent to a rise of over 10 per cent.
 
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite has successfully negotiated a pay deal at Stagecoach Highlands. Our members stood firm, and they were prepared to take strike action to get a better deal.
 
“Unite is once again driving up jobs, pay and conditions across the bus industry in Scotland.”
 
In October, the union revealed that bus drivers overwhelmingly backed strike action to secure an enhanced pay offer from Stagecoach Highlands. The company, which is based in Inverness, provides bus services in Skye, Orkney, Inverness and surrounding areas.
Marc Jackson, Unite industrial officer said: “Through negotiations and our mandate for industrial action, we have shifted the company significantly from its original offer.
 
“Strike action has been avoided but this pay dispute should send a warning to the company that in the future they can’t take their workers for granted and they must be properly valued.”
 ENDS
Notes to Editor 
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Unite Scotland is the country’s biggest and most diverse trade union with around 150,000 members. The union is led in Scotland by Derek Thomson.