10-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Oasis gig and Fringe travel threat as bus workers hold strike ballot
The Unite union said around 130 drivers employed by the firms are involved.
The ballot will open today and close on 24 July. If workers vote for industrial action then strike action could start in early August potentially impacting big events in Edinburgh.
The East Coast Buses drivers provide services from the city of Edinburgh and the East Lothian coast and mainland.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Unite's bus driver members play a vital frontline role in keeping Edinburgh and East Lothian moving. East Coast Buses need to make a decent offer and stop treating its workers with disdain.'
The Fringe Festival could be one of the events hit (Image: NQ) East Coast Buses and Lothian County are both owned by the publicly run Lothian Buses. A separate pay deal has been successfully negotiated by Unite for Lothian County bus drivers which run services across west Edinburgh and West Lothian.
READ MORE:
Unite industrial officer, Mr Lyn Turner, said: 'East Coast Buses can quickly resolve this pay dispute if they want to by increasing its offer which was rejected by our drivers.