Over 140 drivers for Cambus, a subsidiary of Stagecoach, are to strike in Bedfordshire after the company refused to make a decent pay offer, Unite the union said today. 

Drivers at Cambus earn just £13.46 per hour while other companies in the area are already paying over £15 leaving bus drivers substantially out of pocket. 

While the company has tabled a new offer it comes with “strings attached” that would see sick pay reduced in an already highly stressful job involving working long hours. Nor was the pay offer backdated to the pay anniversary date of 4 April and it would also see drivers overtime rates reduced. 

Drivers are angry that their pay demands have gone unanswered and are now taking to the picket line on 9-13 July, 19-23 July, 2-3 August and 5-6 August. Areas affected by the strike include Bedford, Wooten, Flitwick, Ampthill and as far afield as Luton, Stevenage and St Neots.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Instead of making a fair and proper pay offer, Cambus is now messing with our members with these absurd “strings attached” offers. This is a company making millions and it is short changing its workers, without whom it wouldn’t have a service.”