Union bosses have announced new dates for strike action

Annette Belcher Digital Publishing Editor

16:21, 18 Sep 2025Updated 18:11, 18 Sep 2025

Queues for buses on Tuesday, September 16 on Union Street in Bristol as bus drivers take strike action

Bus passengers have been warned of further disruption after union bosses have announced further dates for strike action. Over 600 drivers from First West of England’s City Line will walk out for two weeks while a demo is set to take place tomorrow (Friday, September 19), Unite has said.

The union has warned Bristol will again be ‘brought to a standstill’ next month as over 600 drivers at First West of England’s City Line have voted to take two weeks of fresh strike action.

The drivers, members of Unite, are currently undertaking a four-day strike, the last day of which is tomorrow (September, 19), over pay.

The union has said that after talks ‘broke down’ between First West of England, part of First Bus, and the union, workers from the affected depots, Lawrence Hill and Hengrove, are now planning to walk out from October 1 to 14.

First Bus has denied this however, stating they have always ‘maintained an open dialogue with the union.’ Managing Director Doug Claringbold has described the strikes as ‘unnecessary and hugely disruptive to customers.’ See the full statement further down.

Given the number of drivers involved and the length of the second wave of strikes, this will be extremely disruptive with many cancellations and delays to services expected, the union has said.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “First Bus is a very profitable firm, but its hardworking workers are struggling to pay the bills – the situation is deplorable and it is little wonder they have voted to take further industrial action.

“This dispute has been entirely the fault of the employer who has put profits over people throughout. We will support the affected members every step of the way throughout this dispute.”

READ MORE: Bristol bus strike latest – everything we know as First Bus drivers set to ‘bring city to a standstill’READ MORE: Bristol Bus Strike – full list of the services scrapped or reduced

Tomorrow (September 19) workers from both depots will come together in a demo at Broad Quay near the Hippodrome in Bristol, from 10am to 4pm, which members of the press also invited to attend.

Union bosses said workers at City Line have struggled with historic low pay and believe the current offer fails to address the rising cost of living and the difficult job they do, which often has long hours and puts them at risk of assault from the general public.

One worker said: “I am paying over half of my wages on rent alone and have absolutely no savings. I can’t even afford to pay into my pension because it’s just costing me so much to live right now in Bristol. All I want is a wage rise that reflects the real world.

“The company has to work with us drivers. We do a really hard job, we face a lot of dangers and we have to protect our passengers so we’re constantly on high alert. We also get abused from time to time and we don’t get supported in that.”

Another said: “We are striking for better pay because we don’t believe the company’s offer is fair and reasonable. We believe we are worth more than it has offered us.

“We often suffer abuse and rudeness while driving the buses. Spitting happens and the company gives you barely any support when you’ve been abused.”

READ MORE: Drivers and bosses apologise to Bristol on day one of bus strikeREAD MORE: How long the Bristol bus strike will last

Unite bosses say they have offered to meet First West of England for further negotiations, but they claim it has refused to negotiate with Unite and has also refused support from the conciliation service Acas.

The strikes which began on Tuesday have already caused travel chaos, with many services not running. This has impacted freshers’ week in the city and is set to cause travel chaos for those travelling to the semi-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup at Ashton Gate tomorrow (September 19).

Unite regional officer Amy Roberts said: “Unite has attempted to negotiate with First West of England in good faith, but it has been unwilling to come back to the table.

“We appreciate the strikes have been very disruptive, especially for those making essential journeys, but drivers have felt no choice but to extend the industrial action given the way they have been treated by First West of England.

“These workers do a difficult, essential job and deserve to be paid fairly. First West of England has a chance to stop further disruption, but must come back to the table with a fair offer to do so.”

READ MORE: Day 2 deadlock in Bristol bus strikeREAD MORE: The ‘unusual’ reason why Bristol bus drivers are on strikeStatement from First Bus

Managing Director Doug Claringbold said: “We, like our customers, are deeply frustrated that the union has announced an additional two weeks of strikes in Bristol from the start of October. These are unnecessary and, most importantly, hugely disruptive to our customers, and it is within the hands of the union to stop this action.

“Within 24 hours of the union’s initial strikes this week we saw striking colleagues voting with their feet when some of them swapped the picket line for depots as they returned to work, clearly demonstrating that they want to get back to serving customers and are keen for this situation to be resolved.

“We have always maintained an open dialogue with the union and while they continue to reject our full and final offer, which has been accepted by other areas in our region, we still hope to find a solution to encourage the union to call off their strikes.

“We have been committed to improving the pay of drivers, and our final offer on the table is significantly above inflation, alongside the continued investment we’re making in staff facilities and conditions, including new buses and uniforms, and a range of benefits, including healthcare schemes.

“We will continue to keep as many services running as possible, increasing this number as more colleagues choose to return to work, and I was pleased that during the first day of strikes this week we kept about 60% of services within, and serving, Bristol running. But announcing even more strikes is severely disrupting the public’s travel plans and damaging the reputation of bus travel in Bristol.

“Our revised timetables for services in Bristol, while the current strike days continue, are on our website, and we will review these for any additional days and ensure we get as many buses out as possible for our customers. We encourage customers to check our website for more details before travelling.”