Around 170 First West Yorkshire bus drivers based in Huddersfield have accepted an improved pay deal worth nearly 16%, ending ongoing strike action.
The workers, who are members of trade union Unite, will see their wages increase to £15 an hour, back paid to September 2024, and receive a £200 one-off payment. By April, their pay will have increased by 15.76%, which is worth more than £4,000 for full-time staff.
The improved deal sees pay increase to £15 an hour earlier than first proposed by the organisation. The length of the deal was also reduced from two and a half years to two.
Strike action scheduled for late February and early March, which the drivers argued was a result of their pay lagging behind nearby areas, will not go ahead. Drivers rejected a pay deal in January that would have seen their pay rise to £15.43 an hour from April, following incremental pay rises during 2024, and would have tied them into a pay agreement from April 2024 to October 2026.
Megan Hope, operations director of First Bus North and West Yorkshire, said: “We are delighted that the generous offer in pay for our Huddersfield drivers has been accepted. This avoids damaging industrial action and the severe disruption this would have caused to the daily lives of our customers who rely on the bus to get to work, education and for appointments.
“We continued to talk with Unite and invited representatives to review the structure of the deal available to reach a settlement that would benefit the drivers, while not increasing the overall cost. The whole team can now focus on continuing to deliver an excellent service throughout the communities we serve in Huddersfield and the surrounding area.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, added: “Congratulations to First West Yorkshire’s Huddersfield drivers who won this excellent pay deal by being prepared to take strike action.”
