Staff at a transport firm that takes disabled Croydon children to school are to go on strike tomorrow over pay.

Sixteen drivers and escorts at Impact Group, a Croydon Council contractor, will stage a 12-hour walk-out in the latest phase of "long and bitter" dispute between the company and union Unite.

The workers want the company to pay them the London living wage of £9.15 an hour. 

Impact is paid by the council to shuttle 347 children to and from schools in Croydon.

Unite has called for the council, which last year agreed to pay all directly employed staff the living wage, to pressure contractors to match the pledge.

It also wants an equivalent pay rise for Impact employees already on the living wage.

Onay Kasab, the union's regional officer, said: "This has been a long and bitter campaign to win the London living wage, which this tight-fisted Scrooge employer refuses to pay.  

"Impact is adamantly refusing to talk with Unite or even go for talks under the auspices of the conciliation service, Acas.

"The employer has so far refused to negotiate. Instead, senior managers have turned up on previous strike days and buy breakfast for strike breakers.

"Croydon council is a ‘living wage’ employer, so the rate should apply to all its contractors."

The strike, which will begin at noon and end at midnight, follows a three-day walkout earlier this year.

A council spokesman said: "We’ve got Impact to make sure all 32 of the routes it operates for 347 Croydon schoolchildren are fully-staffed for tomorrow afternoon's strike. 

"On seven of these routes they’ve drafted in some temporary replacement members of staff: each is fully-trained and security-checked, and we’ve informed all affected parents." 

Impact declined to comment.