{"id":2699,"date":"2015-01-13T16:21:55","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T16:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2699"},"modified":"2015-01-14T11:12:21","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T11:12:21","slug":"londons-bus-workers-see-red","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2699","title":{"rendered":"When London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bus workers see red"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

In the run-up to the London bus strike today (January 13), transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin criticised the action because it purportedly lacked the support of a majority of its members.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat kind of mandate is that?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he asked, referring to the strike ballot turnout. But as the day kicked off in the wee hours of the morning, bus drivers proved just how strong that mandate was.<\/p>\n

 
\nThousands of buses – comprising an astounding 70 per cent of the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s service – remained parked in their garages as tens of thousands of drivers took to picket lines across the capital.<\/p>\n

 
\nStrikers in Camberwell stood in solidarity, as Unite general secretary Len McCluskey addressed the thronging crowd of bus drivers, many of whom had turned up in the cold and rain before much of the city had even woken.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Message<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re sending a message to employers today,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf they believe for one minute that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to allow unfairness to continue in this city, they best think again.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur solidarity is rock-solid,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he went on to say, hailing the overwhelming support for the strike.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLondon is the greatest capital in the world, and you are the blood that flows through the veins of this city,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey told the drivers. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWithout you, this city wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t operate.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nHe urged the striking workers to stand firm in their resolve.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an injustice that exists, the only people who can put it right are ordinary working people,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\nEqual pay for equal work<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nAs the media and cynical politicians inevitably paint the strikers as greedy and demanding, London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bus drivers ask only for one collective agreement on pay and terms among the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 18 different bus operators. As the system works now, some bus drivers earn less than others for operating the exact same routes, with pay gaps of over \u00c2\u01413 an hour.<\/p>\n

 
\nTyrone Longville<\/strong>, a bus driver for 13 years, says bus workers like him aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t asking for the moon.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t about us wanting to get loads of money off these companies,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe just want respect as workers\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwe want decent pay, decent terms and decent conditions. At the end of the day, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s TfL that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s paying these companies so ultimately, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s public money we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about here. This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just about us, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about standing up for the proper and just use of the public\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s money.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nDanny Johnson<\/strong>, another bus driving veteran of seven years, agrees.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe do the same work in London, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re under the same pressures, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all on different wages,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSay you were a police officer in south London, and you were earning \u00c2\u0141300 a week, and a police officer in north London earns \u00c2\u0141500, but you both deal with the exact same situations and the same people. Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you want to get paid the same? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the same with buses, we deal with the same passengers and drive on the same roads. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here today – equal pay for equal work.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUnbearable pressure<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nMatthew Virgo<\/strong> started driving buses four months ago, and knows all too well the struggles new starters face.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThose basic, starting rates are so low you just can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t live off of them in London,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHow are you supposed to raise a family and buy a house? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nVirgo explains that the low wages he earns are at odds with the incredibly stressful work conditions bus drivers must deal with on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe get lots of abuse at work and then we have the added stress of carrying several hundred passengers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.
\nTolani Jinadu<\/strong>, (pictured) has been driving buses for over a decade, says senior drivers walk a tightrope to maintain higher wages based on their experience.<\/p>\n

 
\nIf a senior driver is dismissed, she says, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be put on new starter pay when they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hired at another company, even if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had years of experience.<\/p>\n

 
\nShe explains it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not unusual for senior drivers in particular to be targeted and dismissed for even the smallest infraction, in what she believes is a deliberate attempt to undercut experienced drivers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wages.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI know a driver who had been working for the same company for over ten years, and they dismissed him for a cracked mirror.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen I started at a new company after 12 years of experience, I was put on the same pay rate as someone who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just passed their driving exam. I lost \u00c2\u01413 an hour. I hardly have enough money now to eat.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nOne fare, one rate<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s these absurd pay structures, inherently designed to keep wages low, that bus drivers are fighting against.<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite regional secretary Peter Kavanagh argues everything else about the London bus network is regulated.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe price of the vehicle, the price of the fuel, the fares, the revenue for the fares, all that is uniform,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only variant is bus workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wages.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen routes go out to tender, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wages that they undercut in order to win the routes,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 
\nKavanagh pointed to other countries in Europe, such as Germany, Sweden and Holland, where bus employer federations sit with unions to negotiate fair and uniform pay agreements.<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said the strike today was part of a larger struggle against the worst excesses of privatisation.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is about fighting against 30 years of privatisation of our bus services and a race to the bottom in the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leading capital city,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPassengers pay one fare, drivers should receive one rate of pay, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the reality of it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTo achieve that, we need 18 bus companies to come round the negotiating table. So far they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve refused, but they refused to do that on the Olympic award two years ago as well.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut we won that one, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll win this one in exactly the same way – with working people standing together in solidarity.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the run-up to the London bus strike today (January 13), transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin criticised the action because it purportedly lacked the support of a majority of its members.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat kind of mandate is that?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he asked, referring to the strike ballot turnout. But as the day kicked off in the wee hours […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[176,211,202,132],"wps_subtitle":"Thousands on strike for fair pay system","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2701,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699\/revisions\/2701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}