The Highlands could be hit by bus strikes after drivers overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer.
Unite will ballot around 120 members after a pay offer of a 4% increase from July with another 2.5% from January was rejected by 94.6%.
The union said Highland Country Bus Ltd, the name under which Stagecoach Highlands is registered, made £1.71m in post-tax profits in 2023.
The ballot will open today (10 October) and closes on 24 October. If the ballot is successful then strike action could take place from early November bringing bus services around the Inverness area to a halt.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Stagecoach in the Scottish Highlands is guilty of stockpiling money while making a pay offer that simply doesn’t reflect our members' hard work.
“We will back our Stagecoach members all the way in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
Marc Jackson, Unite industrial officer, said: “Unite’s bus drivers across Inverness and the Highlands deserve fair pay. This is a profitable company that is fully able to make a fair pay offer.
“If company doesn’t move then strike action involving our drivers is on the horizon. Stagecoach will be entirely responsible for this situation because it has the ways and means to prevent it.”
Stagecoach Highlands has been contacted for comment.
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