DRIVERS at Stagecoach in west Scotland will be balloted for strike action after overwhelmingly rejecting a pay offer that puts profits before people, Unite said today.

A consultative ballot of 500 drivers based at depots in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan, Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Stranraer found 99 per cent had no truck with the paltry one-year 4 per cent offer tabled by the firm, whose post-tax profits more than doubled from £1.3 million in 2023 to £2.99m last year.

As Unite launch the ballot, general secretary Sharon Graham warned: “If they don’t quickly change direction, then any strike action impacting bus services will be due to them putting profits before people.”