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Stagecoach drivers based in Blackwood have announced the dates they are to go on strike over a pay dispute.

Drivers represented by Unite the Union and based out of Cwmbran, Blackwood and Brynmawr depots want a “no strings” pay rise to £10.50 an hour.

Stagecoach South Wales has offered the drivers the increase, but without paid breaks and a reduction in sick pay agreements.

Union members last month voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in a bid to break the deadlock.

Drivers at Blackwood are currently paid £9.50 an hour, while drivers at Brynmawr are paid £9.25.

Unite Wales Regional Officer Alan McCarthy said: “Stagecoach have pushed our members into a corner. Not only has the company rejected our pay offer it is also attacking our members sick pay and paid breaks. Unite is regretful for the inconvenience this action will cause to passengers but our members have been left with no option but to strike.

“These pay talks were supposed to be resolved in April this year. Our members have now gone a several years with no increase in pay whilst the cost of living has risen considerably. They have had enough.

“The managing director of Stagecoach has described £10.50 an hour as ‘fantasy pay’. Our heroic bus drivers kept our communities moving throughout the pandemic. Bus drivers have proven their worth and to describe their modest pay claim in this way is both disrespectful and out of touch.

“What is a fantasy is to believe that £10.50 an hour is in some way being over paid, particularly when we consider the incredibly challenging working conditions our members face on a daily basis. Our members recognise the support they’ve received from the public through Covid, and hope that the public will support them now, when their employer will not.”

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s deputy leader Jamie Pritchard, whose role takes in responsibility for transport, has voiced his support for the drivers.

Confirmed strike dates for Stagecoach bus drivers in Blackwood

Tuesday, October 19, to Saturday, October 23.

Monday October 25.

Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30.

Monday, November 1, to Saturday, November 6.

Monday, November 8 and Tuesday, November 9.

Caerphilly Observer has asked Stagecoach what services are likely to be affected by the industrial action.

Could talks between Unite and Stagecoach end the dispute?

Before Unite gave notice of its members’ strike action, Stagecoach’s managing director Nigel Winter said the firm wanted talks through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service – something Unite say it has always been open to.

Caerphilly Observer understands that Stagecoach made contact with ACAS on Monday October 4 – the same day that it was put on notice by Unite. Which came first is unknown.

Unite’s Mr McCarthy said talks could happen next week, if there was “genuine intent” from Stagecoach.

He said: “Given the timing, and if the employer demands any action is called off to allow for talks, our members are likely to view it as a delay tactic from Stagecoach.

“If there’s a genuine intent to improve the pay offer in those talks that may change, and Unite Wales will of course keep people updated.”

Stagecoach has said it has already agreed pay deals for drivers based at its depots in Caerphilly and Merthyr
Tydfil and engineers at Cwmbran and Blackwood. The increases, it claims, have averaged between five and six percent.

The company said passenger levels are “significantly down” compared to before the pandemic and that fares did not cover the day-to-day costs of running services, with Welsh Government support keeping buses on the road.

A spokesperson said: “Local people in south Wales who depend on buses to get to work, access public services, attend their place of education as well as local businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic, will be extremely angry that Unite is planning to disrupt their lives and livelihoods.”