Lothian Buses festival strike action suspended
Strike action was planned to start on Friday 2nd August
Last updated 31st Jul 2019
An agreement has been reached to suspend strike action, two days before bus drivers in Edinburgh were due to walk out.
Unite the union today confirmed that following a series of intense negotiations involving the union, Lothian Buses and stakeholders the industrial action set from Friday 2nd August has now been suspended.
The planned strike was set to start on the same day as the opening of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Lothian Buses have brought forward additional proposals which will be put to Unite’s 1700-strong membership over the next few days and voted on on Friday 9th August.
Last Friday, Unite members rejected further proposals to address the dispute issues aimed at improving the workplace culture as they were considered insufficient.
The dispute stems from allegations of poor workplace relations, and a bullying and hostile culture at Lothian Buses by management.
Unite claim staff were subjected to unfair treatment and longstanding procedural agreements were regularly breached which directly affected the terms and conditions of Unite’s membership.
Unite regional industrial officer, Mr Lyn Turner, said: “Unite can confirm that sufficient progress has been made in negotiations between the union, Lothian Buses and stakeholders to suspend the strike action set to begin on Friday.
"Additional proposals were tabled which we will now put to our members and a workplace ballot will take place on the 9th August.
"We are confident these latest proposals will give our members the assurances they require to positively address this long running issue.”
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