Carnival ‘bus chaos’

Unite is warning that bus passengers are facing widespread disruption across London over the August bank holiday weekend as key safety support staff hold a 48-hour strike over pay.

The 400 plus workers are employed in the CentreComm control centre, as bus station controllers, network traffic controllers, infrastructure controllers, revenue protection inspectors and road transport enforcement officers. The dispute is a result of Transport for London (TfL) offering a two year pay deal of a ÂŁ250 non-consolidated payment in each year.

The 48-hour strike will begin at just after midnight on Sunday, August 27 and will end at 11.59pm on Monday, August 28.

The pay offer compares very unfavourably with other TfL pay deals. For example, London underground workers will receive a 3.2 per cent increase this year.

Disruption will result as CentreComm staff are responsible for answering emergency code red alarms directly from bus drivers. If drivers don’t receive a response the driver can choose to not proceed on their route.

Other members of the striking workforce are responsible for re-routing buses due to major events, roadworks and accidents.

Unite regional officer Hugh Roberts, said, “Hard working TfL staff who perform crucial work keeping bus drivers safe and the network running smoothly, are fed up with being treated as the poor relations.

“TfL management must understand that our members are not going to accept a few crumbs from the rich man’s table. They deserve a decent pay rise.

“The non-consolidated offer is particularly insulting as after the two year pay deal the workers’ pay will still be stuck at current levels,” he added.

“The ball is firmly in TfL management’s court; the inevitable disruption this strike will cause can be avoided by the organisation entering into meaningful negotiations.”