Bus service to be ‘near normal’ on strike days

Stagecoach Yorkshire, which runs buses between Barnsley and Doncaster and in Rotherham and the Dearne Valley said the action by members of the union Unite would have little effect.

The company will draft in more than 100 managers and supervisors from across the company, a plan which they used late last year during six days of strikes which have already been staged.

Paul Lynch, managing director of Stagecoach Yorkshire said: “Once again, we will be bringing in managers and supervisors to keep our services running and ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum.

“The replacement services we put on for the previous strike dates were very well received. We had a lot of feedback from those who continued to use Stagecoach services thanking us for the effort.

“We have negotiated with the trade union for more than six months to try and avoid this situation, and, in contrast to many other companies and organisations in the current climate, we have made several pay offers, one of which was recommended for acceptance by Unite.

“Our priority now is ensuring the majority of passengers are unaffected by the new strike dates in January with a robust contingency timetable.”

Unite officials have repeatedly said that industrial action is being taken as a last resort in a bid to achieve “parity” with regard to pay for drivers. A further strike day is currently planned for Monday, January 16.

All Stagecoach buses in Sheffield and Chesterfield, including route 265 to Barnsley, and all those operated by Stagecoach East Midlands in Rotherham, Doncaster and Worksop are unaffected by the industrial action.

All school services will operate as usual on the two dates.