London bus drivers’ union has threatened to continue to strike unless the government accepts their deal for more bonus to work during 2012 London Olympics.
On Friday, thousands of bus drivers and employees of 17 bus companies staged a one-day walk-out in pursuit of a claim for a £500 bonus during the Olympics, causing travel chaos across the capital. A High Court injunction prevented three bus companies from the strike.
Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, warned the employers that unless they negotiate a “fair and sensible” solution, there will be further strikes. “This is a straightforward dispute about fairness, giving hard-working bus workers the same bonus for facing challenges, that have already been awarded to other transport workers, and a fraction of the bonuses being paid to Transport for London bosses”, he said in Unite’s national policy conference in Brighton.
“I say to Mayor Boris Johnson and the rest of the bus companies ‘Sort it out or more strikes are inevitable’,” he warned. Unite is waiting to see the reasons for the injunction being granted before announcing its next move.
The union estimates it would cost £14 million to provide a £500 bonus for every bus driver. Deals have been announced giving workers at Heathrow Express £700, Network Rail £500, Docklands Light Railway £900, London Overground £600 and London Underground at least £850, Unite said.
On Friday TfL commissioner Peter Hendy said the union had “pursued this unnecessary course of action despite an extra £8.3 million being brokered by the mayor that would allow every bus driver in London in a garage where one or more routes were affected by the 2012 Games to gain, over the 29 days of the competitions, about £500.”
Hope they grant these bonuses…we commuters are in so much trouble without the buses!
Mr.Len McCluskey sounds quite dramatic. We have seen millions of such strikes before. Its just a matter of a couple of days before everything settles down and everyone would be back to minding their business.
These bus strikes are such a nuisance for commuters. Neither the authorities nor the drivers understand concerns of the general public. Hope this issue gets resolved soon.
Hey, Govt. must sort the stuff soon. Olympics shouldn’t be hampered!