Bus strikes suspended after company makes new pay offer

Image above: Abellio buses

Planned eight day strike suspended after fresh pay offer

Bus strikes due to hit south west London have been suspended after a new pay offer has been made. Industrial action was due to take place between  8-10 May and from 13-17 May. The strikes were by bus company staff in control rooms in Battersea and Twickenham.

The new offer was tabled by the employer Transport UK (formerly Abellio), and as a result, the impending strike action was suspended to allow members to consider and vote on the latest offer.

The routes that would have been affected by the strike are: 24, 27, 111, 156, 159, 267, 285, 322, 344, 345, 415 , 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, R68, R70.

Control room staff, who use high-tech satellite GPS systems to monitor bus routes across London, had been offered a five per cent pay increase for 2023 by Transport UK, a substantial real terms pay cut, as inflation stood at 13.4 per cent last January when the pay rise was due.

The workers already earn approximately £10,000 per year less than staff doing similar jobs at other bus companies and have been offered a smaller pay increase than that offered to control staff doing the same job at competitor companies.

Unite regional Maxine Loza said:

“Transport UK has come forward with a new pay offer that will now be put to a ballot of our members. As a goodwill gesture, Unite is suspending the planned industrial action that was due to begin next week.”