UNION chiefs have suspended further strike action by Wilts & Dorset bus drivers - but no agreement has been reached.

Following secret talks yesterday, the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union cancelled the next planned strike day on Wednesday, January 23, to allow more talks in a bid to resolve the long-running dispute over driving hours.

The union wants the maximum driving time cut from the current five-and-a-half hours to four-and-a-half hours. Drivers have staged three day-long walk-outs over the issue so far this month.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow, who joined the picket line during the most recent strike last Wednesday, said: "Our members have now voted twice to strike by margins of 10 to one, and now the company has indicated it is ready for talks on what is a straightforward safety issue.

"The company needs to ask itself why our members have taken three days of solid strike action and stop putting their profits before our members' and their passengers' safety."

While the fourth and last planned strike has been cancelled, there is still no sign of a permanent resolution, and Wilts & Dorset bosses say they are unlikely to back down over driving hours.

Alex Carter, managing director of Wilts & Dorset, said: "For months we have already offered generous pay increases and a shorter working week but to restrict the hours of drivers any further will go one step too far and compromise the practicality of operating certain routes with the current fare structure and pensioner concession payments."

The company also claims it met 80 per cent of its commitments during the last strike, including key services, as some drivers crossed picket lines to return to work and others were drafted in from elsewhere.

Mr Carter added: "The strikers have been losing a big percentage of their wage packet at an expensive time of the year and the growing number of drivers willing to work, who don't support the reason for the strike, were in a difficult situation."