NORTH East Stagecoach bus strikes are back on after workers voted to reject the company's latest pay offer.
Six hundred workers voted in the most recent ballot, which saw Stagecoach's latest offer rejected, meaning the North East summer holiday strikes are back on and will occur on August 18 and 21.
Stagecoach North East drivers and engineers were offered a pay rise of 3.3 per cent backdated to April and a further 1.7 per cent from January 2026.
Unite said that the offer did not bring the workers 'pay parity' with colleagues doing the same job for Stagecoach in the North West.
"For example, Stagecoach North East drivers currently only earn £15.01 an hour, whereas North West drivers in Manchester earn £17.54," said a spokesperson for Unite.
"Stagecoach is a highly profitable firm, with figures from last year showing it recorded a total operating profit of £51.1m - up from £33.1m - and a profit before taxation of £47.6m."
Steve Walker, managing director of Stagecoach North East, has said that the company is 'disappointed' that the workers have rejected the offer, saying that their proposal was 'above inflation.'
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Stagecoach North East’s workers have rejected the company’s latest offer because it totally undervalues them. Stagecoach is a profitable company and can afford to improve the deal. The workers will receive Unite’s full backing during these pay strikes."
Unite regional officer Dave Telford said: "There will be severe disruption to bus services across Newcastle and Tyne and Wear, but this is entirely the fault of Stagecoach for failing to put forward an acceptable offer. There is still time for industrial action to be avoided, but that will require Stagecoach tabling a deal its workers can accept."
Steve Walker, managing director of Stagecoach North East, said: "We are disappointed that our latest offer, increasing the drivers' pay by 5% over the course of the year, has been rejected by drivers and engineers at our two Newcastle depots and by engineers at our Sunderland and South Shields depots.
"Our proposal was above inflation, and met the Union's aspiration that the final rate was 5 per cent higher. Newcastle drivers are already the highest paid in the region compared to other large operators and have been awarded pay rises in previous years that were well above inflation.
"It is also worth reiterating that their current demands would see additional costs passed onto customers. Stagecoach buses are one of the most cost-effective, accessible, and convenient ways to travel around the city, so this is something that we are absolutely keen to keep to a minimum.
"We remain committed to ensuring that drivers receive an affordable pay increase. This strike action will cause unnecessary disruption across our Newcastle-based communities, and we urge the trade union members and Unite the Union to reconsider their position.
"We will do everything possible to minimise the impact of the planned industrial action, but there will be a reduced bus service across Newcastle on Monday 18th and Thursday 21st August. All other services in the North East and Tees Valley regions will continue to operate as normal.
"All service information will be available on the Stagecoach app."
Stagecoach has said that the X77, X78, and X79 buses are all cancelled during the strikes.
The company has also announced the 685 bus journey times in and around the Tyne Valley that will not be operating on the days of the strikes.
For service 685, the following journeys will not operate:
- 05:43 from Denton Burn to 06:20 at Hexham.
- 06:20, 07:30, 11:45, 12:45, 17:00 and 18:15 from Newcastle to 08:50, 09:58, 14:13, 15:13, 19:32 and 20:38 at Carlisle.
- 06:27 from Hexham to 07:26 at Newcastle.
- 09:05, 10:05, 14:20, 15:25, 20:20 and 21:20 from Carlisle to 11:33, 12:33, 16:48, 18:03, 22:32 and 23:32 at Newcastle.
- All other trips on Service 685 will operate as normal.
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