City Bus Drivers Vote To Strike Over Pay
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Chloe AslettYorkshire
Bus services in Doncaster are because of be interfered with after more than 230 chauffeurs voted to take industrial action over pay.
First Bus drivers in the city will go on strike on 28 and 30 March, and 7, 22 and 24 April after declining a deal which did not provide them pay parity with coworkers in Sheffield, the Unite union said.
Unite general Graham said the business could manage to pay its motorists in Doncaster the exact same amount and was "choosing to put revenues over people".
Zoe Hands, managing director of First Bus in the area, stated the deal of a 7% increase backdated to January 2026 was "among the very best chauffeur pay offers this year".
"We are really dissatisfied and saddened at the choice to go on with strikes," she said, including that the business "acknowledged the strength of sensation" on the issue.
"We remain committed to working constructively with Union agents to reach a reasonable and sustainable agreement," Hands stated.
"Our door remains open to continue conversations and prevent unneeded commercial action."
'Unfair situation'
The Unite members associated with the dispute work at the Doncaster Bus Depot on Leger Way, which operates several routes affecting the city centre.
The dates encounter the Easter vacations and events at Doncaster Racecourse including the opener of the British flat racing season, the William Hill Lincoln Handicap.
Regional officer Christian Ratcliffe stated: "Unite members in Doncaster need to not be financially penalised for working a couple of miles down the roadway.
"This unfair circumstance can't continue and Unite is requiring First Bus treats its hard-working chauffeurs fairly."
Unite stated FirstGroup was "highly rewarding", with profits of ₤ 833.6 m for the six months to September 2025, and could afford to satisfy the strikers' needs.
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