Belfast bus strike ends

Bus services in Belfast will resume in the morning after drivers agreed to end their two-day strike.

The unofficial walkout was caused because drivers were unhappy at the bus company Translink’s response to the increasing wave of attacks.

But talks between management and unions resulted in proposals being agreed to deal with financial support for drivers who have been assaulted.

John Coffey, of the Transport and General Workers Union, said the strike had raised public awareness of the dangers faced by drivers in the city.

‘‘It’s highlighted to the public and to the company that we are not prepared to stand back and accept this,’’ he said.

One of the proposals involves setting up a task force to review how to deal with drivers who have been assaulted.

Translink marketing manager Ciaran Rogan said: ‘‘The task force has to take a complete look at how drivers are brought back into work after an attack.’’

The strike, which began without notice yesterday, caused traffic chaos during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

Hundreds of bargain hunters were left stranded for hours.

Drivers had been unhappy at the company’s response to the increasing attacks in recent weeks.

The situation became so bad that the company withdrew services from a number of routes in the north and west of the city.