Bus strike starts today on 20 routes in dispute leaving workers “out of pocket”
As of this morning Transport for London began advising that strike action on buses will start to cause disruption.
The strike is by members of the Unite union, who work for Tower Transit. The union said 1,000 drivers, engineers and other workers are involved in a dispute affecting some 28 bus routes across London.
Overall, almost 32 per cent of normal bus services are operating across the affected routes. Of the 20 affected day bus routes, a reduced service is operating on 17 routes – 23, 25, 28, 30, 58, 69, 70, 212, 236, 266, 308, 339, 425, 444,488, W14 and W15.
Read more: Now Bus workers are going on strike including during Notting Hill Carnival
The stoppages follow mounting frustration among workers, who are angry over a lack of consultation over roster changes which they say are leaving them out of pocket, as well as a dispute over rest day working pay rates, the union said.
Members at bus operator Tower Transit will take industrial action on Friday and again on Monday after a 9-1 vote backing the motion.
The strike action began at 00.01 this morning and will continue until 23.59 tonight – affecting night time bus services well into the early hours on Saturday morning.
Read more: RMT announces new strike dates on Southern Rail
Day bus services on Saturday and Sunday will operate as normal, but another strike is currently scheduled for Monday – when the Notting Hill Carnival takes place – affecting the same routes.
Up-to-date information on bus services by route can be found at tfl.gov.uk/buses.
Regional officer Simon McCartney said:
Tower Transit bus workers have reached breaking point over an increasingly belligerent management who have turned their back on constructive consultation and dialogue. Instead workers now face the imposition of changes to their rosters leaving them out of pocket and rearranging their family life.