28 Sept 2012

Aberdeen drivers demand a share of megaprofits

It's not just in Wales where workers employed First Bus are fighting back. About 400 union members in Aberdeen are to be balloted on industrial action over pay, after a consultative ballot made clear that an overwhelming majority thought the pay rise on offer was insulting (The vote was 209 to 19). If a strike goes ahead it is likely to take place in the run up to Christmas.
First was offering a measly 1.5% pay rise, despite seeing pre-tax profits jump from £126m to £280m in the year to 31 March. The official (some would argue fictitious) inflation rate currently stands at 2.9% - so anything below that is clearly a pay cut.
Talks took place today between management and union officials in an attempt to settle the dispute. However, no agreement was reached. Unite’s regional rep Tommy Campbell said: "The company is being mean yet again by not sharing out some of the millions of pound of profits they have made to the workers that help create that profit."

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