LAST-ditch talks look likely to take place to avert a strike by drivers at the Forest’s biggest bus company.

Both Stagecoach West and Unite the Union say they want to avoid the month-long walk out scheduled to start on Thursday, March 10.

Union members across Gloucestershire voted “overwhelmingly” to strike for the first time, says Unite.

Stagecoach says it is committed to affordable pay increases but some of the figures demanded by the union would have put services at risk.

Stagecoach is the main provider of bus services in the Forest, connecting the district with Gloucester, Ross, Chepstow and Monmouth as well as between towns and villages in the area.

The dispute involves more than 380 drivers employed across Gloucestershire and surrounding counties by Stagecoach West including those based in the Forest and the depot at Ross.

Unite the Union, which represents the drivers, says strike action – which is due to take place between Thursday, March 10 and Saturday, April 9 – could still be avoided if Stagecoach makes a “vastly improved” pay offer.

Drivers were balloted on strike action negotiations with the company.

The union is seeking a pay rise in line with “real” inflation – which is currently running at nearly eight per cent. It claims Stagecoach were effectively offering a pay cut.

The union says drivers earn less than £11 an hour and it is the first time they have voted for strike action.

Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Unite has given Stagecoach West every opportunity to make a fair pay offer to avoid strike action but it has failed to do so. Our members at Stagecoach West have made it very clear they will accept nothing less than a significant pay rise and they have Unite’s full support in this fight. Stagecoach has to get real – it’s time to table a serious offer.”

Unite regional officer Shevaun Hunt added: “Our members are taking strike action as a last resort because Stagecoach has refused to listen.

“Industrial action will inevitably cause severe disruption to passengers throughout Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and especially during the Cheltenham Festival.

“Even now strike action could be avoided if Stagecoach West was prepared to return to the negotiating table and make an offer which meets the drivers’ expectations.”

A spokeswoman for Stagecoach West said: “Around 40 per cent of bus drivers in these areas are not members of Unite and have not voted for strike action.

“In recent negotiations, Unite has been demanding pay increases of up to 22 per cent, which would put the viability of many community bus routes at risk at the very time they are already under strain.

“We are committed to giving our people affordable pay rises, on top of the increases we have given over the past two years during the difficult period of the pandemic.

“We are expecting to hold further talks with Unite in the week ahead and would urge them to work constructively with us to reach a solution that is in the collective best interests of everyone.”

The strike is scheduled to start shortly after bus timetables in the Forest are changed from next week.

The changes will mean the end of the 132 service linking Newent with Ledbury as well as a reduction in the frequency between Newent and Ross.