Stagecoach drivers walk out for six weeks of strikes

Ayrshire Stagecoach drivers have said they had no option but to walk out for SIX weeks.

- STEPHEN BARK

Rural communities across Ayrshire have been cut off as six weeks of strikes by Stagecoach drivers over a pay dispute begin.

Temporary timetables introduced by Stagecoach will see just nine services running across the county.

Towns including Cumnock, Auchinleck, Mauchline, Stewarton, Kilmaurs, Dalry, Kilbirine, Beith, Largs and West Kilbride won't see a Stagecoach bus for the next six weeks.

Hundreds of Stagecoach drivers based in Ayr, Ardrossan, Arran and Kilmarnock walked out on Monday after rejecting a pay deal.

Speaking through a Unite the Union representative, the drivers said they had "absolutely no choice" but to go on strike.

Union chiefs say Stagecoach drivers in Ayrshire are currently the lowest paid Stagecoach bus drivers in the UK but the company has been unable to come to an agreement with Unite to close that gap.