HUNDREDS of bus drivers went on strike yesterday amid a dispute over pay.

Unite union members picketed outside the First Bus depot in Great Lever, after rejecting recent pay offers from the company which they say were ‘way below the level of inflation’.

A total of 679 drivers across the firm’s Bolton and Rusholme depots were involved in the industrial action, which they plan to extend to every Monday this month.

Neil Clarke, Unite regional organiser, said: “The pay increases we have been offered by First are way below the level of inflation, so we would effectively be taking a pay cut.

“At this depot there are a number of different pay rates for people doing the same job. There is a £1.88 per hour gap between the highest and lowest earning drivers.

“The company have said they will try to reduce that gap, but their plans would be to the disadvantage of the higher earners, who would be funding increases for their colleagues. There is no ethical or moral justification for the disparity — it is just corporate opportunism.

“We are truly sorry for any inconvenience to passengers. The people on strike here are members of the Bolton and Bury community, so are their families and friends, and it is regrettable that we have had to take this action. But we can't continue to accept living standards decreasing year on year.”

Phil Medlicott, managing director at First Manchester, said: “We have spent many hours, in recent weeks, meeting with Union representatives to explain our financial situation and it’s therefore disappointing that staff have decided to take strike action over five days. We have offered our drivers a reasonable offer, especially in comparison to the rate of pay that other professions across Greater Manchester currently receive.

“Over the last two years we have been making changes to ensure our business is sustainable and to help protect jobs in the long term and we have therefore made what we consider to be a reasonable offer. This is despite the ongoing pressure that the business is facing and following the recent relocation of our Bury and Tameside operations to reduce our operating costs. On behalf of First Manchester, I’d like to apologise once again to our customers affected by this strike action.”

Bolton services which were not running included the numbers 2, 8, 36, 37, 68, 471, 501, 507, 510, 511, 524, 561, 562, 571, 572, 575, 582 and the X39.

There will also be Northern Rail strikes taking place today and on Thursday.

The majority of services will not run and any that do will be working to a revised timetable. A full list of the revised timetables is available at northernrailway.co.uk/industrial-action.