Hull Stagecoach staff begin the fourth week of their strike amid claims some workers are being pressured to break ranks

Unite regional organiser Harriet Eisner said they would welcome fresh talks on a sensible offer to end the dispute but added they were yet to get an invitation from Stagecoach.

But Stagecoach East Midlands Managing Director Matt Cranwell said they company had plans to hold one next week as focuses on trying to get Hull’s buses back on the road.

It comes after 250 bus drivers, engineers and cleaners have been on strike over pay since Friday, October 7, with the walkout slated to last until Thursday, December 29.

Unite is calling for pay to be increased to £13-an-hour which the union said would still leave workers earning less than Stagecoach staff in Merseyside who make £14-an-hour.

Stagecoach workers at Hull currently make £11.14-an-hour.

Stagecoach tabled an offer of £13-an-hour by May and £12.50 by the end of the year at talks with ACAS on Saturday, October but the union rejected it.

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said the company’s efforts to undermine industrial action would not work.

The union leader added Stagecoach and its owner Deutsche Bank made profits of £72m and £3bn respectively last year and called for workers to get a bigger slice of the pie.

Ms Graham said: “Our members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action and will not be split.

“They will not be treated as second class employees.”

Ms Eisner told LDRS the union did not believe collective bargaining with the company had been exhausted.

The regional organiser said: “We’d be happy to get back round the table with them, we’re prepared to meet them but they haven’t told us about a meeting next week.

“Not only do our Hull members sorely deserve and need one, but it is the only way to stem the huge driver shortages afflicting the area.”

But Stagecoach have claimed income from fares is not enough to sustain services as passenger numbers remain below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

The company is also paying to decarbonise its bus fleet.

Stagecoach said it had also settled a number of disputes with Unite in the last six months and its current offer would make Hull staff the region’s highest paid.

Mr Cranwell said the company’s concerns had been escalated with Unite as plans are drawn up for a meeting next week.

The managing director said: “Our priority is to agree a pay deal and get buses back on the road for our local communities.”