Trade union Unite said passengers will face “severe disruption” across North East England.
Go North East drivers and engineers have been offered pay cuts and changes to their terms and conditions. This includes a reduction in paid meal break durations and time to travel between bus stations, where some drivers sign on for work and their depots. Administrative and clerical staff have not received any pay offers.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Go-Ahead is a massive company running bus services, not just in the north-east of England, but across the country and overseas. Yet they treat their workers with contempt by offering real-term pay cuts with these below-inflation offers.”
Drivers have been offered a two-year deal, which consists of a 9.11% pay increase in the first year, followed by the rate of inflation next year.
But drivers said they were effectively "funding their own pay rise and working more hours for less pay".
Go North East said the union was "refusing to engage" with the offer.
Go North East business director, Ben Maxfield, said, “The two most talked about inflation measures, CPI and RPI, are currently running at 6.4% and 9.0% respectively. Our offer of 9.11% beats both these figures …Unite is claiming without any attempt at justification, that driver pay is not keeping up with inflation. Quite simply, it is a false flag”
The depots that are being balloted and would be affected by industrial action are Consett, Gateshead, Hexham, Percy Main (North Shields), Sunderland, and Washington.
The ballot on industrial action will close on 12 September. If industrial action is voted for, strikes will likely take place from mid-September.