More than 250 Stagecoach workers in Hull have accepted a two-year pay deal worth 20% after suspending further strike action.
The bus drivers, who were on strike for four weeks, have received a pay increase to £12.50, backdated to May 2022. This will then increase to £13 from December 2022, £13.25 from May 2023 and £13.50 from December 2023. Workers in other roles have received equivalent percentage increases over the same period.
After extensive negotiations between management and trade union Unite, strikes were called off last week to allow employees to be balloted on the updated pay deal, which they accepted.
Unite’s grassroots strategy, Unite for a Workers’ Economy, supported the staff throughout the strikes. Currently being rolled out across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, the group was set up in order to work towards higher wages, freedom from fuel and food poverty, and pensions that allow people to retire comfortably.
Matt Cranwell, managing director for Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “We’re pleased to have reached a positive agreement with Unite on a new pay deal, that has now been fully accepted by their members. We’re very proud of our team, who do a great job in delivering vital transport connections for our communities. [This] agreement means that we can now focus on the future ahead and making sure we deliver the best possible service for our passengers in Hull.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, added: “This is a major victory for Hull’s Stagecoach workers, who, by standing together, achieved a substantial pay increase. It’s also a significant moment for the region because it shows that the low wages often suffered here do not have to be accepted. If workers organise in the union they can change things.
“We expect this will provoke others into taking industrial action. Unite will now be assisting union members in the area, whose wages are being kept artificially low by businesses earning huge profits, to fight for a better deal.”