Britain’s largest specialist transport trade union, the RMT is holding two days of strikes beginning Tuesday, July 23. 

The action is set to affect First buses which operate school services in the county with parents advised that no services are guaranteed, and to “organise their own transport where possible” in a notification sent home.

The disruption hits as Cornwall’s secondary school children are due to break up for the summer holidays.

The two days of action were called back on July 10 after negotiations, which included sessions facilitated by ACAS, failed to yield an acceptable offer, said the union. 

Over 300 members took part in the extensive negotiations with the company which posted a group adjusted operating profit increase to £204.3m compared to £161.0m the year before.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, said: “Our members have sent a clear message to First South West; they will not accept being amongst the lowest paid transport workers in the region.

"The company's offer to hard-working staff is particularly insulting given the huge payouts given to FirstGroup boss Graham Sutherland.

 "If FirstGroup can find £800k in bonuses for top management, they can find money for bus workers."

First Bus South West said in a statement from July 20: “Unfortunately, despite making an improved offer, the RMT have refused to put this offer to their members and instead confirmed they will take strike action - which is completely unnecessary while negotiations are ongoing.

“This is extremely disappointing, as the RMT’s unwillingness to work with us not only impacts our colleagues but causes unnecessary disruption to our passengers who rely on the bus for work, education and important appointments.

“The RMT were invited to continue to engage with us next week instead of striking but they’ve decided to proceed with their planned action.

“We will be in touch with the RMT on next steps and would like to apologise to our customers for the disruption the strike action will cause in Cornwall and Somerset.”

In the FirstGroup plc latest annual report, it states, that 2024 was ‘another year of strong financial performance for the Group, driven by continued growth in First Bus and our First Rail open access operations’.

Group Chief Executive Officer, Graham Sutherland, is quoted as saying: “This is testament to the resilience and capability of our people across the Group and leaves us well positioned to grow and create further value for all our stakeholders.”

The annual report also states that the group is proud to be the UK’s largest national bus operator to become an accredited Real Living Wage employer in April 2024, “meaning that more than a thousand employees across the UK will benefit from a rise in wages.”