Huddersfield bus drivers to strike over 10-month wait for pay parity with First West Yorkshire colleagues

Around 170 Huddersfield bus drivers employed by First West Yorkshire will strike in February and March over pay parity.

The drivers have rejected a pay deal from First that would see pay rise to £15.43 an hour from April 2025 following incremental pay rises during 2024.

The reason behind the rejection is because wages for First drivers in other parts of West Yorkshire reached over £15 an hour in mid-2024, as did wages for drivers at competitor bus companies operating in Huddersfield, Unite union has said.

Unite has also stated the rejected offer would tie the workers into a pay agreement beginning in April 2024 and ending in October 2026, which will “once again result in their wages lagging behind that of their colleagues”.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “First is a hugely profitable company. Yet it thinks it’s ok to significantly underpay these drivers for nearly a year while also tying them into an overlong agreement that will result in wages rates sliding again. This is totally unacceptable.

“Unite will not flinch in its support of our First West Yorkshire Huddersfield members as they strike for a fair pay deal.”

The Huddersfield drivers will strike from February 3 to 16 and again from February 24 to March 9.

The union has warned “industrial action will intensify if the dispute is not resolved”.

Unite regional officer Darren Rushworth said: “First has no one else to blame for the disruption that will be caused to Huddersfield’s bus services but itself.

“It could end this dispute tomorrow by putting forward a pay deal that properly addresses the huge pay disparity these workers are suffering.”