MORE than 40 bus services across Ayrshire have been cancelled and dozens more have been limited as Unite bus drivers at Stagecoach West of Scotland began strike action for better pay today.

The action — taken by 430 Unite members — marks the first of three one-day strikes, to be followed up on June 2 and 6, before six weeks of continuous action from June 9 unless the employer ups its 4 per cent pay offer overwhelmingly rejected by workers in November.

Unite industrial officer Siobhan McCready said: “The drivers are being asked to fund a pay rise by working longer hours, taking longer unpaid breaks and losing a week of annual leave.

“This is simply unacceptable, and it will not be tolerated by Unite. This company doesn’t seem capable of listening to its workers.

“It’s not right that the drivers are the lowest paid across the whole of the Stagecoach group.

“Our members deserve a fair rate and that’s what we are determined to get for them.”

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “We urge Unite to reconsider its position and return to the negotiating table.”