New offer Bus strikes put on hold as drivers vote on improved deal

A PLANNED two-week long strike by bus drivers in Bristol is on hold after First Bus revised its pay offer - despite saying the last one would be final.

- Tristan CORK

Drivers at the city's two biggest depots were set to walk out on Wednesday and said they would strike for a fortnight. But that is now 'suspended' while drivers are balloted on the new offer, according to First.

Around 600 drivers with Unite Union staged a four-day strike earlier this month, in a dispute over how much of an agreed pay rise should be backdated to April 1. The strike saw three-quarters of the services from the two depots cancelled, with traffic congestion, long waits, full buses and eerily quiet evening streets across the city.