East Coast bus strike will clash with Oasis gigs and Edinburgh Festival if drivers vote for industrial action

Unite has confirmed around 130 drivers employed by East Coast Buses are involved in an industrial action ballot after rejecting a two-year pay offer.

The ballot opened on Thursday and closes on July 24. If workers vote for industrial action, strike action could start early next month, potentially impacting on Edinburgh’s festivals and the Oasis concerts at Murrayfield Stadium.

The East Coast Buses drivers provide services from the city of Edinburgh and the East Lothian coast and mainland.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite’s bus driver members play a vital frontline role in keeping Edinburgh and East Lothian moving. East Coast Buses need to make a decent offer and stop treating its workers with disdain.”

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East Coast Buses and Lothian County are both owned by the publicly-owned Lothian Buses. A separate pay deal has been successfully negotiated by Unite for Lothian County bus drivers, which run services across west Edinburgh and West Lothian.

Unite industrial officer Lyn Turner said: “East Coast Buses can quickly resolve this pay dispute if they want to by increasing its offer, which was rejected by our drivers. If they fail to then industrial action could hit major events, including the Fringe Festival and Oasis concerts at Murrayfield.”

Willie Hamilton, operations director at Lothian Buses, said the company was hopeful of reaching a resolution and avoiding strike action.

He said: “We are disappointed that despite constructive and positive discussions with Unite resulting in an overall offer of 9.3 per cent being recommended for acceptance, we have not yet reached agreement with colleagues from East Coast Buses.

“We remain absolutely committed to working jointly with Unite in the hope of reaching a resolution and avoiding industrial action.”

The looming industrial action comes after hundreds of drivers launched strikes last month at Stagecoach, in a move that caused cancellations and disruption on the west coast of Scotland.

More than 400 drivers at depots in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan and Kilmarnock took industrial action.

The strikes were ended on June 18 when Unite accepted new terms on behalf of the drivers that delivered a 11.5 per cent increase in basic pay.

The pay deal had amounted to a rise backdated to January, taking basic hourly pay from £13 per hour to £14 from June this year. From February next year, the rate will be lifted to £14.50 an hour until fresh pay negotiations are due.

Unite on Thursday confirmed its local government membership had also voted to accept a two-year pay offer from council umbrella body Cosla.

Thousands of Unite’s local government members returned a 77 per cent yes vote in a ballot to support the deal, which gives a 4 per cent pay rise this year and 3.5 per cent in 2026/27.

Ms Graham said: “The deal negotiated by Unite will boost pay packets and provide stability for our members.”