Hundreds of Manchester bus drivers to continue strike action next week as negotiations fail to reach agreement

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Arriva drivers will continue strike action next week after negotiations between the bus operator and the unions representing workers failed to reach an agreement.

Employees at Arriva have been taking part in 'all-out continuous strike action' since July 20 in a dispute over pay. Depots including Bolton and Manchester have been involved in the industrial action, with union bosses labelling an originally offered pay rise of three per cent as 'pitiful'.

Arriva drivers, represented by the UNITE and GMB unions, said they require a decent pay rise to keep up with rising inflation and the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Earlier this week, Arriva said a 'generous' new offer was made of an 8.5 per cent rise, which they said would have been backdated to March. READ MORE: Family's holiday nightmare as suitcases with bank cards, clothes and medication VANISH This offer was dismissed outright by the unions, who described it as an insult and claimed it was not a new offer because 8.5 per cent had previously been offered by the company.