Union Confirms New Deal Prevents Bus Driver Strikes

The Unite union has announced that a new pay agreement has successfully prevented planned strike action by bus drivers across the Highlands and Orkney. The disagreement, which involved approximately 200 union members and the company Stagecoach, had posed a threat of service disruptions in locations such as Aviemore, Inverness, Portree, Tain, Thurso, and various areas within Orkney. Unite indicated that the initial year of the compensation package would grant drivers a basic pay increase of around 7.5%, applied retroactively to July. The union further stated that drivers would also see improvements in their overtime and hourly rates during the first year, with a subsequent element of the agreement providing for overtime rates to rise further from £16.50 to £17.50.