Aberdeen bus drivers look set to go on strike after voting in favour of a walk out.
Unions and management at First Bus are locked in a bitter dispute over pay. Workers want a four per cent pay increase but the firm have proposed a wage freeze.
Drivers gathered in Aberdeen today to hear from union leaders the result of their ballot for industrial action.
Those who voted, fewer than half of the eligible staff, overwhelmingly backed a walk out.
Management say in these credit crunch times a pay freeze is necessary, but union leaders disagree.
Tommy Campbell of the Unite Union said: "If this company wasn't making money we would certainly not be balloting on industrial action and we would be acting reasonably in those circumstances. It's them who are being unreasonable; they are being poor, mean and greedy as far as we are concerned. What we have here are the fat cat bosses creaming it all off for themselves and that's very unfair to the workforce”.
But First Bus have condemned the union stance, saying strike action is unjustifiable.
They are accusing the union of demanding a pay and conditions claim which amounts to a 52% increase a figure that Unite hotly dispute.
Duncan Cameron of First Aberdeen said: "I am very disappointed and very frustrated that the union intend to take this sort of action, particularly in the light of the fact that only 32% of staff have voted for strike action. Also, our staff are second only to London in terms of the highest paid drivers across First".
A strike by bus drivers in the run up to Christmas last year caused widespread disruption to services.
Although no strike dates have yet been announced, management say they are keen to get back around the negotiating table with the unions.
However, with both sides at loggerheads it seems inevitable that the city's travelling public will be facing disruption at some point in the near future.
