Bus strike

[beaver14uk]

Start planning alternative travel arrangements now.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18461358

[buggie]

Any idea how to find out which routes will be affected in advance - googling has lead to stuff about the last bus strikes & London underground section of TfL website (oh the irony!)

[beaver14uk]

Its really not going to be clear until Friday morning when its known home many people turn up for work. I personally would plan on the basis of no buses operating then you won't be disapointed.

[KalamityKel]

Although it might not happen... it was originally scheduled for yesterday (Monday 18th) so who knows... I would advise against thinking of catching the train/tube ... IMO of course :D

[the-e-dealer]

KK Originally scheduled on 18th by whom? Or is this a joke about bus latemess?

[saleem]

Another union tantrum? You'd think they already get paid over the odds for such a relatively low-skilled role.

[KalamityKel]

the-e-dealer Wrote:

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> KK Originally scheduled on 18th by whom? Or is

> this a joke about bus latemess?

I was being serious - it was originally being balloted for the 18th.. altho I can see the potential humour attached.

saleem I don't think it wise for you to make such comments... rocket scientists are frowned upon in ED

[saleem]

Close, I work in petrochemicals. But how long until these bus and train drivers wrestle their way into ?50,000 a year in exchange for not holding commuters at their mercy whenever they spy an opportunity to squeeze more money out of an already well-wrung stone?

[the-e-dealer]

50,000 Bus Drivers? What Planet are you on?

[the-e-dealer]

They didnt vote on a date! They voted on Striking I cant find any reference to 18th.

Members of the Unite union supported industrial action by a ratio of more than nine to one, on a 38% turnout. The union is seeking the bonus, which will cost ?14m, for the 20,000 bus workers it represents, claiming that all other transport workers are being paid a premium for working during the event. At least 800,000 extra passengers are predicted on buses during the Olympics.

The ballot allows the union to name a date for a strike, but it has yet to do so. Unite said it was giving the 21 bus companies a final opportunity to consider the "landslide" ballot result before announcing possible strike dates early this week.

[KalamityKel]

Even if they were paid that much I wouldn't want to do their job!

Besides bus drivers rarely threaten strike action to this degree which is a just reason really... why should tube and train drivers get extra pay during the olympics and nothing offered for bus drivers?

[KalamityKel]

the ed-dealer - not everything is made public - my information, which I appreciate I should have shared my source earlier on, was from a union representative and bus company worker/s.

[the-e-dealer]

Ah I was hoping you had a useful source you could share because its so hard to get any info.

[Chippy Minton]

It's definitely been called and it starts at 3am this Friday. It's the first London-wide bus strike for 30-odd years and it involves 20-plus operators so it is difficult to predict how many buses will run.

Some of the operators are also likely to try and get an injunction to prevent it, so obviously the success or otherwise of this will affect its impact.

[the-e-dealer]

Nothing on the TFL (Ttally F'ing useLess?) website.

[Chippy Minton]

My guess is TfL would claim the dispute is between the union and the bus operators, although clearly the union sees TfL (at least) as partly responsible.

Either way, it goes ahead on Friday.

[Huguenot]

I can really see bus drivers running the St. Hellier routes getting blasted away by the Olympic traffic.

Some of those boys in Canons Park aren't going to even know what hit them once the Olympic hordes crash in on suburban North West London.

Thank heavens the unions are there to protect them. They're being absolutely stitched up by Boris Komolakoff - the one Olympic visitor who mistakenly happened to make a 100 yard bus journey on his single afternoon trip to visit the grave of a long lost relative.

They deserve every penny these bus drivers. Boris was hard work he was. They're not on the gravy train at all.

Five hundred quid isn't nearly enough.

[the-e-dealer]

TFL shows bus Train and Tube Information and helps us get around yet there is no reference to the strike or its likely impact. It show Engineering Works and Any disruption at the weekend BUT NOTHING about the Strike.

[Chippy Minton]

Crap TfL eh!

They maintain the dispute is a matter for the private operators even though it's the body responsible for London's transport and they put out press statements on the strike!

[the-e-dealer]

I've learnt to ignore hugenuff!

[Huguenot]

Why, because the 20,000 London bus drivers out of 24,000 in total that will never see an Olympic passenger deserve an extra 500 quid for all their hard work?

[the-e-dealer]

Someone say something?

[Undisputedtruth]

I didn't hear anything. Where's Hugenuff these days? Usually he's on strike threads like flies on shite.

[Loz]

So what will the strike cost an average bus driver in wages? A touch over ?100 by my estimate.

Their ?500 is now worth less than ?400. If they get it. Another strike will chip even more off it.

Striking for an extra ongoing pay rise has a cost/benefit. This just seems like union muscle flexing, which probably explains the low turnout.

[Loz]

Huguenot Wrote:

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> Why, because the 20,000 London bus drivers out of 24,000 in total that will never see an Olympic

> passenger deserve an extra 500 quid for all their hard work?

Actually, given the amount of pre-games work done by London companies to mitigate games traffic issues, most bus drivers will probably see less passengers. Perhaps they should dock all drivers ?100 (since they'll have less of a workload) and redistribute the money to those on the busy side of town?