BUS workers are voting on whether they should strike as part of an ongoing pay dispute with Warrington Borough Transport.

Wage talks between the Transport and General Workers Union and WBT have stalled and drivers, mechanics and support staff have been taking part in a postal ballot on industrial action.

WBT says staff have been offered nine per cent between now and next April, with "no strings attached".

But the union, which has been in negotiations with the company since last September disputes this, claiming the deal runs until April 2005.

Two previous ballots have already been rejected by bus workers - one on the nine per cent deal and another on graduated pay rates, which are linked to the individual's length of service.

One employee told the Guardian that the drivers only wanted a fair rate of pay for what could be often be a difficult and dangerous job.

Results from the strike ballot are expected next Tuesday and union leaders have confirmed they will not be making any further comment until the result is known.

Nigel Featham, WBT's managing director, said that while the offer did not meet staff expectations, it was the highest pay offer made "for many years" and was well above pay settlements reached nationally.

"We very much hoped that staff would go along with this," he said.

"Unfortunately, while we understand the disappointment some staff feel, nine per cent really is the absolute maximum the company can afford without putting its future at risk."