Oldham’s bus strikes are over after drivers at First Manchester voted to accept a pay offer.

Unite the Union held a ballot yesterday (September 6), with drivers voting to accept the offer, according to First.

Drivers will receive a pay increase to £15.50 per hour from September 3, with a lump sum payment of £1,100 and a further rise to £16 per hour from January, according to the company.

First Bus says this amounts to an 18.5 per cent increase in pay over the period.

Drivers were earning £13.50 per hour previously, with some saying they had to work more hours as they ‘can’t afford to do a flat week’.

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The picket lines left much of Oldham without bus service for 22 days across July and August, with First being the main operator in the borough.

Previous pay offers had been criticised by the union as having ‘strings attached’ – with offers said to have been constructed to avoid back pay by the union.

Drivers were even offered extra incentives to ‘break’ the strike by the company, with an additional £75 per day on offer to those who didn’t strike.

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Rob Hughes, operations director of First Manchester, said: “We are delighted to have reached agreement with Unite and acceptance of a generous offer which makes our drivers some of the best-paid in Greater Manchester together with additional employment benefits.

“This ends any further damaging strike action and the severe disruption this has caused to the daily lives of our customers who rely on the bus to get to work, education and for appointments.

“It is disappointing that it has taken six months to get an agreement with Unite after we began talks in February and made a series of no-strings offers which met its requests on hourly pay and have all been well ahead of inflation.

“We have always approached pay talks with an open mind to try to resolve this dispute and move forward, allowing us to focus on the transition period to franchising and providing the people of Oldham with a great bus service. 

“The whole team can now focus on continuing to deliver an excellent service throughout the communities we serve.”

Additionally, Greater Manchester Accessible Transport (GMAT) drivers balloted in favour of a 10 per cent increase backdated to April, a £350 one-off payment for all staff and an extra day of holiday per year.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Congratulations to our First Oldham and GMAT members who achieved substantial victories by standing together in their union and refusing to back down.

“These results are further proof that Unite’s total concentration on improving jobs, pay and conditions is winning for our members.”

Unite regional officer Colin Hayden said: “These excellent pay deals came about through the hard work and determination of our reps and members at First and GMAT. I encourage anyone who wants better wages and working conditions to join Unite and get their colleagues to do the same.”

First Bus is set to be exiled from the borough as part of Mayor Andy Burnham’s ‘Bee Network’ bus franchising, which will see Stagecoach and Diamond run all local services from September 2024 under the unified Bee Network branding.

First will still run some services in Rochdale.