'Excellent' pay win

More than 400 Nottingham bus drivers are celebrating an ‘excellent’ pay win negotiated by Unite.

NCT wages will now increase by £1 an hour, meaning drivers will see their pay rise between 8.3 per cent and 9.3 per cent. Starting rates will increase to £11.32 an hour, while the top rate of pay will rise to £13.10 an hour.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “This is an excellent pay win for our NCT members. I commend Unite’s NCT reps, whose hard work and dedication was vital during negotiations.

“Unite is a winning union with a renewed and unwavering focus on protecting and bettering our members’ jobs, pay and conditions,” she added. “This deal, part of a growing list of significant pay victories in recent months, shows our approach works.”

Before the deal, the drivers, who work for council-owned Nottingham City Transport (NCT), were being consulted over strike action after they rejected NCT’s previous offer.

The deal will come into effect on January 13, two months before the usual anniversary date for pay rises.

Unite regional coordinating officer Scott Lennon said, “Unite’s NCT members achieved this deal because they stood together in a union.

“It is prime example of why workers looking to improve their wages and working conditions should join Unite and encourage their colleagues to do the same.”

By Ryan Fletcher