London bus drivers

Same job – we want the same pay!

London bus drivers demonstrating for sector wide pay rates, 11.09.14, photo Paul Mattsson

London bus drivers demonstrating for sector wide pay rates, 11.09.14, photo Paul Mattsson   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

London bus drivers in the Unite union are now being balloted for strike action for equal pay rates across the capital following a 96% ‘yes’ vote in a consultative survey. A London bus driver gives the background.

Since 1994-95 when London buses were privatised, bus workers have seen attacks on their pay, terms and conditions by operating companies eager to increase profits at any cost.

The last seven years have been the most ruthless with minuscule pay ‘rises’ which in real terms (after inflation) are pay cuts. Many people arrive at work with the constant fear of abuse from management or supervisors, and of getting written warnings for just about anything.

There’s disparity in pay, terms and conditions across 17 different bus operating companies, each having up to five different pay scales for drivers all doing the same job.

Hourly rates for bus drivers vary by as much as £6.00 per hour, from £9.75 to £15.26. New drivers may stay at the low rate for up to five years.

This is why the Unite union is calling for London’s bus operating companies to come around the table to establish a standard London bus driver wage.

In 2012, London bus drivers showed their potential power when they struck for an Olympic bonus. Most other public transport workers in London – from London Underground to Boris’s Bikes – had been given a bonus for dealing with increased Olympics traffic. But not us!

However, one day of the disruption caused by strike action was enough for us to win the £500 bonus.

Sector wide

Many bus workers believed that the sector wide negotiation (SWN) campaign should have been launched following this victory. But this demand has since grown following even more attacks from operating companies on drivers’ pay and conditions.

Unite has written to the operating companies demanding that they come around the table to discuss SWN. The initial response was that Unite was illegally trying to ‘price-fix’ the industry. This claim was totally false. As Unite has pointed out, these operating companies have SWN in place all over Europe!

On 11 September this year hundreds of London’s bus workers took to the streets in a demonstration from Victoria to Parliament Square to protest their right to SWN in order to gain a fair system of pay, terms and conditions. Unite General Secretary. In his address Len McCluskey promised Unite’s full backing through funding and resources to this campaign, to cheers from the crowd.

Following the success of the demonstration Unite decided to hold a consultative ballot across every London bus garage on 31 October, where 96% of bus workers were in favour of industrial action – an amazing response!

Now, Unite has started a full postal ballot. Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson has said: “London’s bus drivers are the best in the world”. But they need to be paid fairly and treated with respect by the companies they work for.


While bus drivers across Britain face low pay and passengers face high fares, the bus bosses won’t be worrying about their Christmas shopping bills.

Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths’ pay packet this year will be £2.2 million, including a £600,000 bonus.

Not far behind is First Group’s Tim O’Toole receiving around £2 million.

And Go-Ahead’s chief executive David Brown’s pay more than doubled last year to £1.96 million.