Watch: First Aberdeen reacts as bus drivers vote to REJECT new pay deal

Aberdeen bus drivers have voted to reject a new pay deal.

Unite the Union members were being balloted on the settlement, which was thrashed out with First Aberdeen following 10 days of strike action.

Of the 255 members balloted – an 80% turnout – 148 voted to reject the deal and 106 voted to accept.

Union negotiators had taken an offer to the members that they believed had a chance of passing the vote, following two days of discussions with the Advisory, Conciliatory and Arbitration service (ACAS).

First Aberdeen reacted to the news in a series of tweets, in which the firm said the costs to the business “simply cannot be sustained”.

Firstly, we would like to begin by apologising to our customers for the on-going disruption that further industrial action is likely to cause as we very much hoped to be getting our services back to normal. First Aberdeen are extremely disappointed by the news that the Unite the

— First Aberdeen (@FirstAberdeen) April 9, 2018

Union members have voted to reject our final offer proposal on the revised terms and conditions.
“This agreement was reached with the Unite the Union representatives via the ACAS collective conciliation talks, where management were extremely transparent about the precarious

— First Aberdeen (@FirstAberdeen) April 9, 2018

financial position that the company finds itself in. During these talks, we were absolutely clear that this was the best and final offer on the table despite the current reality of the situation facing the business in the city.
We were willing to go to these extra lengths to get

— First Aberdeen (@FirstAberdeen) April 9, 2018

the city’s bus services back to normal and end the disruption, so to see this voted down via ballot is very concerning indeed. The company will now need to take some time to digest this result and to weigh up the next steps as the costs to the business and falling revenues

— First Aberdeen (@FirstAberdeen) April 9, 2018

we are currently enduring simply cannot be sustained. The changes to terms and conditions were introduced to reshape our cost base to ensure that there is a future for the business in the city.

— First Aberdeen (@FirstAberdeen) April 9, 2018