Bus drivers walk out in strike over pay

More than a hundred bus drivers across Dorset have walked out on strike.

The five day strike is effecting First Wessex drivers who are angry that colleagues in places like Yeovil get more for the same job.

More than 110 drivers based at Weymouth and Bridport began their strike from 4am Monday morning and will continue until Saturday at the same time.

The Unite Union says its members are angry at a 2.3 per cent pay offer from the First Group, while drivers in Bristol were given a 13 per cent increase.

Nearly 90 per cent of the drivers voted in favour of strike action.

The company says it's disappointed it hasn't reached an agreement with drivers. Buses will still run on main routes, on an emergency timetable during the action.

Unite claim that Weymouth and Bridport drivers earn around £18,300 a year - equivalent to £8.80 an hour, while First Group drivers in Yeovil are on £9.50 per hour.

Drivers working for rival firms in Bournemouth and Poole, they say, earn nearly £2 an hour more.