A PAY dispute between bus drivers and First Dorset that led to several weeks of strikes since June has been resolved.

The union Unite has today announced that the five-month dispute involving drivers in Weymouth and Bridport has been settled.

The deal was thrashed out in talks between senior management from First Group as well as local managers and Unite national officer for passenger transport Bobby Morton as well as shop stewards from the bus drivers.

Unite national officer for passenger transport Bobby Morton thanked the public.

He said: “This has been a long running dispute; however we have finally hammered out a peace plan that was accepted by our members.

“I would like to salute the solidarity that our members have shown since the first strikes in June and without that solidarity we would not have been able to achieve the current deal.

“Unite would also like to thank the Dorset public for its support of our members which sustained them during this difficult time.

“The drivers are now working normally and Unite wishes to build a constructive relationship with the management of First Hampshire & Dorset as we move forward.”

Unite said that the terms of the settlement will not be made public.

Marc Reddy, managing director at First Dorset also welcomed the agreement.

He said: “ We are very pleased that this dispute has finally come to an end, so we can focus all our efforts on providing reliable bus services to the communities we serve.”

Drivers have held several periods of strike action over the past few months over the dispute, which saw drivers asking for pay similar to that of colleagues in Yeovil.

The first strike was a five day walkout in June and at the time Unite said that while drivers in Bristol had been given a 13 percent pay rise those in Weymouth had only been given a 2.3 percent rise over two years from August 2015.

Unite claimed at the time that drivers in Weymouth and Bridport earn £8.80 an hour while drivers in Yeovil are on £9.50. Other strikes included a seven-day walkout in August.

Last week a meeting was held in London as both parties worked to resolve the issue.