London Bus strike (23rd June)

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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tinyurl.com/88v48yz

London Evening Standard, 15th June 2012

Thousands of London bus workers will go on strike next Friday in a row over extra pay for working during the Olympics.

Unite said buses in the capital will come to a standstill as bus workers from every London bus operator will walk out for the first time in a generation.

The strike is over Unite’s claim for a £500 bonus for over 20,000 workers to recognise the “massive increase” in workload during the Games.

Unite said that unless the bus operators make an offer, the union will call further strikes up to and during the Olympic Games.

The last London wide bus strike took place in 1982.

Unite’s regional secretary for London, Peter Kavanagh, said: "London buses will come to a standstill for the first time in a generation across London on 22 June.

"The blame lies squarely with the bus operators and Transport for London. The bus companies haven’t met with Unite once to discuss bus workers’ extra contribution to the Olympic games and TfL has refused to intervene.

"This dispute could be resolved at a stroke but if the bus companies and TfL continue to do nothing Unite will call further strikes up to and during the Olympic Games.

“Bus workers are on the frontline of London’s transport system dealing with millions of passengers yet all TfL has done so far is insult them.”

Unite said bus workers were the only London transport workers not receiving an award for their extra effort during the Olympics.

Deals have been announced giving workers at Heathrow Express £700, Network Rail £500, Docklands Light Railway £900, Virgin Rail £500, London Overground £600 and London Underground at least £850, said Unite.

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Perhaps a good idea to allow more time or perhaps not even enter London. Afterall, if there aren’t any buses will people take their cars in■■? :unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

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What’s a bus? :wink:

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I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

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waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Where’d you get that idea from?

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Well what a surprise to find Unite with its stick in the ■■■■ bucket again.

First the Tube drivers, then the tanker drivers, now the bus drivers. McClusky’s certainly determined to ■■■■ the Olympics up.

Wonder how hard they’d work for general haulage drivers who’ve had to do extra shifts 'cos of the Olympics? :wink:

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motosnape:

waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Where’d you get that idea from?

Which?

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gnasty gnome:
Well what a surprise to find Unite with its stick in the [zb] bucket again.

First the Tube drivers, then the tanker drivers, now the bus drivers. McClusky’s certainly determined to [zb] the Olympics up.

Wonder how hard they’d work for general haulage drivers who’ve had to do extra shifts 'cos of the Olympics? :wink:

Best of luck to him IMO!

Sent from my iPhone using my right index finger!

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I’m a london bus driver.

I don’t agree with the idea that we should get a bonus for working during the olympics, we don’t get paid less when it’s quiet, IE, school holidays, however…

If tube/train/DLR drivers are getting a bonus, then so should we.
The above drivers have zero contact with the public, so I can’t understand why they are getting a bonus.

However, if the train/tube/DLR drivers are getting a bonus, then the platform/ticket office staff should get a bonus as well, after all, they are the ones that are dealing with the public direct.

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waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Wrong.

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rambo19:

waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Wrong.

+1, why should bus drivers not get paid a bonus■■? train drivers are and trust me they do not deserve a bonus the train drivers … I hope for one that the buses do screw up the olympics if they do not get a bonus …

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discoman:

rambo19:

waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Wrong.

+1, why should bus drivers not get paid a bonus■■? train drivers are and trust me they do not deserve a bonus the train drivers … I hope for one that the buses do screw up the olympics if they do not get a bonus …

I don’t think the train, tube, DLR or any other driver should get a bonus for doing their job during the olympics, and threats of strikes is just stupid IMHO.

btw, I’m an ex bus driver, was PCV for 7yrs before I moved onto HGV’s for the quieter passengers, did 2 weeks in London but rest of the time was ooop North, and we had to deal with everything, people didn’t buy their tickets at the bus stop, they bought them off the driver, that could be a single, a return, a day saver for 1 company, a day saver for all companies, a day saver for bus and train, 1 for bus and tram, 1 for bus, train and tram or a company weekly ticket which had to go in a laminated folder.
WE did that, so if there was an extra 5000 passengers, we had to issue an extra 5000 tickets, deal with an extra 5000 £20 notes for a £1.10 journey.
And, even then, an hour is still only 60 mins long, so whilst dealing with those passengers, you’re doing nothing else.

If AFTER the games, the company feels like giving out bonus’ based on extra income generated, then it sure would be appreciated, but I don’t think it should be demanded by any of the public transport workers.

Oh, btw, we had the commonwealth games in 2002 and managed no problem :wink:

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waynedl:

discoman:

rambo19:

waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Wrong.

+1, why should bus drivers not get paid a bonus■■? train drivers are and trust me they do not deserve a bonus the train drivers … I hope for one that the buses do screw up the olympics if they do not get a bonus …

I don’t think the train, tube, DLR or any other driver should get a bonus for doing their job during the olympics, and threats of strikes is just stupid IMHO.

btw, I’m an ex bus driver, was PCV for 7yrs before I moved onto HGV’s for the quieter passengers, did 2 weeks in London but rest of the time was ooop North, and we had to deal with everything, people didn’t buy their tickets at the bus stop, they bought them off the driver, that could be a single, a return, a day saver for 1 company, a day saver for all companies, a day saver for bus and train, 1 for bus and tram, 1 for bus, train and tram or a company weekly ticket which had to go in a laminated folder.
WE did that, so if there was an extra 5000 passengers, we had to issue an extra 5000 tickets, deal with an extra 5000 £20 notes for a £1.10 journey.
And, even then, an hour is still only 60 mins long, so whilst dealing with those passengers, you’re doing nothing else.

If AFTER the games, the company feels like giving out bonus’ based on extra income generated, then it sure would be appreciated, but I don’t think it should be demanded by any of the public transport workers.

Oh, btw, we had the commonwealth games in 2002 and managed no problem :wink:

Sorry but when I was based in England I had to pay more on my council tax towards the olympics … persons up north didnt have to but then again us southerns pay for most up north ie boro toon macky where there is no work and only the hardest of hard want to work most are happy to sit on their [zb] and do nothing … so you drive a truck your boss says i want you to do an extra trip from a 2 b every day for 3 weeks but your not getting paid any extra for it more stress etc … bus drivers deserve a bonus if they strike the whole of london will grind to a halt the underground and BR could not cope with the extra passengers!

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A bus driver may well be paid by the hour, but the job is going to be a lot harder and more stressful during the games. Congestion and late running is going to mean that the five minute break, or whatever, at the terminus of the route, which is timetabled as “recovery time” will disappear resulting in an immediate turn around. Add to that the fact that there are precious few toilet facilities available for bus drivers anywhere at the best of times. The companies schedule the duty to utilise the maximum legal driving time, which is far longer under PSV domestic regs than EU HGV. Add on the increase in passengers who don’t know where they are going, haven’t got a ticket, don’t understand English and refuse to get off again because the bus is full up, and the job is not “just driving”.

Many posts on here mention " I won’t drive in London"; so have some sympathy for those who have to.

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cav551:
A bus driver may well be paid by the hour, but the job is going to be a lot harder and more stressful during the games. Congestion and late running is going to mean that the five minute break, or whatever, at the terminus of the route, which is timetabled as “recovery time” will disappear resulting in an immediate turn around. Add to that the fact that there are precious few toilet facilities available for bus drivers anywhere at the best of times. The companies schedule the duty to utilise the maximum legal driving time, which is far longer under PSV domestic regs than EU HGV. Add on the increase in passengers who don’t know where they are going, haven’t got a ticket, don’t understand English and refuse to get off again because the bus is full up, and the job is not “just driving”.

Many posts on here mention " I won’t drive in London"; so have some sympathy for those who have to.

Most of what you’ve posted applies to London during the summer anyway, and every time there’s a special event on. I didn’t notice you threatening to strike during Jubilee week, perhaps even Comrade McCluskey realised that the public would turn on him for that. And since when did more than 20 per cent of your passengers speak English as a first language anyway? :wink:

My missus drives a bus down here in rural Wales BTW and she encounters exactly the same problems. :laughing:

Lorry drivers don’t get paid any bonus for running flat out in the run up to Christmas, or in my case when the weather’s atrocious and farm animals still need to be fed.

You’ve got a regular job, and decent wages already. chances are you’ll max out your overtime and work your rest days for a premium anyway.Stop whinging and deal with it; the rest of us have to. :wink:

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Most of the time you have to work at least one rest day in order to break even on bills/food vs wages etc! Most bus companies don’t pay a different rate for overtime. Same rate, just more hours.

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discoman:

rambo19:

waynedl:
I thought the wage you got paid was to do the job you were employed to do, ie drive a bus for £x / hr…

Isn’t an hour still an hour during the games, if anything I’d think they’d do less work due to congestion etc.

It’s not like bus driving up here where you handle money, change, weekly tickets and things, they just drive.

Wrong.

+1, why should bus drivers not get paid a bonus■■? train drivers are and trust me they do not deserve a bonus the train drivers … I hope for one that the buses do screw up the olympics if they do not get a bonus …

I believe drivers coming from others parts of country should get a small bonus nowhere near what they are getting purely on the basis of travelling time etc accomodation will be paid for so why give them extra for doing what they are trained to do drive buses not like they doing anything extra other than working and staying away from home.

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I’m a London train driver (not a tube driver) and we are getting a bonus as our shifts will be lengthened with earlier starts in the morning and later finishes in the evening. In addition they want to run extra trains over the Olympics. Unlike buses you can’t just hire in some drivers from up north do it and give them a couple of days training; so we are being given an incentive to work overtime (our days off).

The Olympics bus driver bonus situation highlights the fact that they are not as well paid as train drivers whom many say have a harder job as they have to deal with London traffic and passengers. So should train drivers get a bus drivers salary and vice versa?

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To the OP ,
you might want to change your header title perhaps :unamused:
:open_mouth: Friday is 22nd June 2012 Not the 23rd .

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fredthered:

gnasty gnome:
Well what a surprise to find Unite with its stick in the [zb] bucket again.

First the Tube drivers, then the tanker drivers, now the bus drivers. McClusky’s certainly determined to [zb] the Olympics up.

Wonder how hard they’d work for general haulage drivers who’ve had to do extra shifts 'cos of the Olympics? :wink:

Best of luck to him IMO!

Sent from my iPhone using my right index finger!

No ones mentioned TfL big bosses £80,000 bonus yet! £500 is peanuts! :grimacing: :grimacing: :grimacing: but they won’t pay it so strike says I! :sunglasses: