We‘ve tried to answer any questions you might have about the current pay talks between Stagecoach West Scotland and Unite the Union. Additional information will be added to this page if new questions or changes arise, so please do check back.
Why are drivers striking at Stagecoach West Scotland?
Following the dispute over pay, Unite the Union notified the company that they intend to take forward further industrial action commencing on Monday, 2 June 2025, Friday 6 June 2025 and then on Monday 9 June 2025 and continuing each day up to 20 July 2025 when the action will conclude at 23:59 hours. After a meeting between Stagecoach West Scotland and Unite the Union, including ACAS attendance on Wednesday 21 May, Unite the Union didn’t take the company’s final pay offer to a ballot with their members and, as a result, the collective bargaining process has been exhausted.
What is the Stagecoach West Scotland proposal on the table?
Stagecoach West Scotland last met Unite the Union on 21 May to explore further options to resolve the current dispute. During that meeting, an improved offer was made in an effort to reach an agreement, however Unite the Union rejected this and did not give their members the opportunity to ballot on this offer. The Stagecoach West Scotland offer, the last offer taken to the ballot by Unite the Union, and accepted by our employees at our Dumfries and Stranraer depots, currently remains on the table for our employees in Ayrshire.
This pay offer has a value of around 11.85% on the headline rate over the 2 years of the agreement, with an increase of 7% now and a further 4.53% in February 2026.
This would represent an increase of £3,123 for any driver working a normal 39 hour week to £29,487 from February 2026.
What terms and conditions have been included in the deal?
As part of our discussions, we explored a number of options.
In the deal outlined above, which was accepted by our employees at our Dumfries and Stranraer depots, they have agreed to remove paid booking on and off time, reduce the minimum working day from 7 hours 15 to 6 hours 30 and to change the minimum break time from 45 minutes to 35 minutes. These changes would not alter the number of working hours to the week, they would simply change how the duties are made up. These terms and condition changes have allowed us to provide an increase to the hourly rate.
What about employee holidays? There has been mentions about this over the past few weeks?
Several years ago Unite the Union negotiated additional annual leave as part of wage negotiations. This means that our employees with more than 5 years’ service have 38 days annual leave per annum including Bank Holidays. This is 10 days more than the statutory minimum and significantly more than their colleagues receive across the other regions in Stagecoach’s operations. Unite the Union are comparing this package with colleagues who have a different hourly rate of pay.
Stagecoach West Scotland have offered to turn five days of this annual leave back into money on the hourly rate and to offer a holiday buy back scheme, however this has been rejected by Unite the Union. This offer would enable those who want the additional holiday to take it and those that want the cash to take that.
At no stage have Stagecoach West Scotland failed to honour any pre-booked annual leave.
What impact will industrial action have, and what are your contingency plans?
Stagecoach West Scotland have been able to plan a reduced service level on the days of industrial action and the most up to date details of this can be found here https://www.stagecoachbus.com/regional-service-updates/west-scotland/ayrshire-and-arran
Is Stagecoach West Scotland a good place to work?
Stagecoach West Scotland employs 932 people with 647 in driving roles. In the past few years Stagecoach West Scotland have introduced more family friendly rotas and offer terms and conditions amongst the best in Stagecoach and in the industry for comparable roles.
Employee vacancy rates are amongst the lowest across Stagecoach and employee turnover rates are below the industry average.
Why can't you offer more to employees?
The new pay offer is comfortably above the rate of inflation, meaning it provides a real terms increase. Stagecoach West Scotland gets the vast majority of its revenues from customer journeys, and we need to balance affordability for households across the country with the need to invest in our people, our fleet, technology and our premises.
With increases in National Insurance contributions for employers announced by the UK Government and reductions in the reimbursement rate from Transport Scotland for concessionary travel, there is a need to find a fair pay deal that rewards our employees but also allows the business to remain commercially viable now and into the future which includes investment.
