Leeds bus strike suspended

Leeds bus workers, who have suspended their all-out strike due to have started today (July 26), will be voting on a new improved two-year pay deal over the next fortnight.

Unite said that the ballot result of the 1,000 bus workers, based at the Bramley and Hunslet Park depots in Leeds, would be known on Thursday, August 11.

 

“The indefinite bus strike, due to have started in Leeds tomorrow, has been suspended after the company First  West Yorkshire came forward with a much improved two-year pay offer after protracted talks on Friday (July 22),” said Unite regional officer Phil Bown.

“Our members will be balloted on this offer over the next fortnight and the result will be known on Thursday, August 11. In the meantime, the strike has been suspended and our members will be working normally.

“We appreciate that the threat of strike action has caused concern to the travelling public in Leeds, but Unite believes that the new offer on the table offers an excellent opportunity to resolve this dispute,” he added.

The one remaining issue that has to be resolved is the dismissal of the Unite branch secretary, who was one of the architects of the new deal. Unite is awaiting a date for an appeal hearing with one of the company’s senior directors. The issues relating to 13 other members have been resolved to the union’s satisfaction.

“The dismissal of our branch secretary is very important to us, especially as he was one of the architects of the new deal that our members are now voting on,” Bown noted. “We fully expect that he will be reinstated once the appeal hearing has been held.”