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Chaos for London as bus strike looms
by LotusFlower | October 9, 2008 at 04:30 am | 562 views | 10 comments | 54 recommendations
To overseas visitors the London Bus is as much a symbol of England itself as of just the capital city and perhaps this strike is indicative of things to come across Britain as belts tighten and public and private spending is cut in the light of the world financial crisis.
This strike will hugely disrupt the flow of London life and it will be interesting to see how this Union action will be dealt with by the companies involved and the government.
Thousands of bus workers are to stage a 24-hour strike over pay tomorrow, causing travel chaos for passengers.
The walkout at three firms - First, Metroline and Metrobus - is expected to cause widespread disruption to services in London.
Unite has called the strike in support of a campaign for a single pay rate of £30,000 a year for a 38-hour week for drivers, arguing that pay in the capital's 18 bus companies varies by up to £6,000.
Unite officer Peter Kavanagh said: "There is a startling disparity between bus drivers' pay in the capital, with rosters in some companies seeing many drivers complete nearly 60 hours a week.
"Not only is this potentially unsafe, it is unfair to have bus workers across London doing the same job for less money or having to put in longer hours."
October 9, 2008 at 04:30 am by LotusFlower, 562 views, 10 comments
Crowd Power
LotusFlower
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (10)
at 06:51 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:25 on October 9th, 2008
thanks - many here are thinking that this is just the start of strikes - scottish rail too are striking ...
at 08:38 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I think the real "startling disparity" is between the wages these drivers are getting and the wages that nurses/teachers/firemen get in London. How dare they hold the city's commuters to ransom over this. Theirs is one of the few industries where people people are still demanding 'jobs for life', final salary pensions and above-inflation rises. They're living in cloud-cuckoo-land
at 09:16 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Gosh, I can only imagine the chaos... remember the tube strike not too long ago?
at 10:07 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I feel bad for Londoners. I know how nightmarish these strikes can be.
at 10:24 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Bad enough in a mid-sized city like Vancouver, but in a major epicentre like London I can't even imagine the headaches that will come of this. Hopefully a resolution is agreed upon soon to spare commuters too much trouble..
Are the bus drivers linked with other public transit branches, and if so will those be affected as well?
at 11:15 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 12:14 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 12:41 on October 9th, 2008
LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I like London - I hope the buses don't go on strike!
- reply
danny busy (not verified)at 07:30 on October 10th, 2008
they have been offered 4% this year and thats about it with strings but managers get a lot more then the drivers they get less hours more pay and more time off work 8 hours a day start to finish