Hundreds of bus workers across the south of England may soon be voting on strike action in protest at Stagecoach South's 10 different pay rates for doing the same job.
Senior union representatives from the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) met last week to discuss the situation in light of an overwhelming vote by bus workers to return to one set of pay negotiations.
The process to begin the ballot started late last week.
At present, staff in rural areas such as Alton, Bordon and Petersfield earn around £7 an hour while their colleagues in urban areas like Medway and Thanet earn £7.60.
Further dispute has arisen over holiday and sick pay schemes which vary across the company.
Starting dates for the pay year are also currently spread over eight months. The net effect of the differences was that the T&G was involved in 10 different sets of pay talks, but with the same Stagecoach managing director.
"This situation has arisen because of drift over the last few years but the union organisation is refreshed, robust, revitalised and determined to change back to one rate for the job and one set of negotiations for all," said Sharon Wentworth, the T&G regional industrial organiser who is the spokesman for the bus workers.
"The current situation is not fair and, quite frankly, it is inefficient."
The depots concerned are spread through Hampshire, Kent, East and West Sussex and include Aldershot and Ashford among many others.
Over 1,000 bus workers are involved. In a vote held through September to ask if workers wanted a return to one set of pay talks 701 said yes with just 76 opting for the status quo.
Ms Wentworth said the view of the union representatives at last week's meeting was very clear. They felt the Stagecoach South managers had prevaricated and that a full ballot for strike action was the only way of making it clear that the workforce had had enough of "divide and rule". They wanted a modern, common sense way of dealing with pay and working conditions.
"Stagecoach can afford to change as they are spending a fortune bringing in loan drivers to plug the gaps caused by their own failure to manage the business properly," added Ms Wentworth.
"If they end the nonsense of different rates, they may find one rate for the job may go a long way to tackling driver shortages."
A formal application to ballot for industrial action will be made and determined by the T&G General Secretary. Once approved, a postal ballot is conducted independently of the union over a two to three-week period.
If the result is for industrial action, the union has 28 days from the close of the ballot to take appropriate action, giving seven days notice if they choose to strike.