Letter: Why Doncaster’s bus drivers are being forced to ballot for strike action
I am writing to the people of Doncaster – from Thorne and Moorends to Rossington and Conisbrough – to explain why your local bus drivers at the First South Yorkshire depot were forced to start balloting for strike action on February 26th.
None of us want to see our passengers stranded at bus stops in Dunscroft, Wheatley, or the Town Centre. We take pride in serving this community, but we can no longer stay silent while First South Yorkshire treats the Doncaster area as the "poor relation" of the county.
The reality behind the wheel is a tale of two cities. If you drive a bus in Sheffield for First, you are paid £15.30 per hour (rising to £15.60 in April). If you drive that same bus, doing the same difficult job, on the streets of Doncaster, you are paid just £14.15 per hour.
Why does Managing Director Zoe Hands believe a Doncaster driver's time is worth over £1 an hour less? Is the cost of living any lower for a family in Bentley or Armthorpe than it is in Sheffield?
The disparities don't stop at the wage packet. Unlike our Sheffield colleagues, Doncaster drivers face "unpaid waiting days" when we are ill, meaning we lose money just for being unwell.
While Sheffield staff get an extra week of holiday for their long service, that same loyalty is ignored here in Doncaster. We are even expected to perform cash-handling duties at the end of our shifts for free – a practice that would not be tolerated elsewhere.
As Mayor Oliver Coppard moves toward a new bus franchising model for the whole of South Yorkshire, we have to ask: Does First South Yorkshire actually care about our town? You cannot claim to support a "One South Yorkshire" vision while deliberately under-investing in the people who keep Doncaster moving.
We love our town and we care about our passengers, but we cannot accept being treated as "second-class" citizens any longer. We are asking for nothing more than parity, fairness, and the same respect shown to drivers just a few miles down the M18.
It is time for First South Yorkshire to stop short-changing Doncaster and start treating its workforce with the equality we deserve.
A concerned Doncaster bus driver, via email