Over 1,500 Arriva North London bus drivers at eight garages went on strike on 14 August over “roasting” conditions in the heatwave.
Onay Kasab, Unite national lead officer, said: “Unite members at Arriva have shown that the time for talking is over. It’s time for action. It is no use telling a worker, who works within a bullying management culture, that they have the right to a safe workplace in law – the point is how we implement it, how we make sure it happens. And that’s what these workers are showing. We stand together, we act collectively and we win safe working conditions.”
Socialist Party members visited strikers at every garage. At every picket line, we were shown photos of cab thermometers: 38, 40, 42, 45, even 48 degrees!
At Grays, Essex, drivers talking to Ciarán O’Donoghue expressed serious anxiety about safety and what would happen if they were to crash because they passed out due to heatstroke. They were concerned for their passengers and pedestrians in such an event, but also themselves – as they would be held liable! “One driver was telling me he got through 2.5 litres of water and a litre of Lucozade on his shift yesterday. They wished the drivers from other companies in other parts of London, not just Arriva, were also out on strike – the strike would be even more effective at forcing concessions.”
Amnon Cohen reports from Wood Green that “one driver told me that they do have air-conditioning in the buses as they are quite modern vehicles. But they are not working. The belts are disconnected.” At Tottenham, pickets told Sam Smithson the same thing: “Many of them think it is done on purpose to save fuel. Lots of people were talking about how more needs to be done on pay and conditions generally”.
At Southbury, in Enfield, Paula Mitchell was told: “Most of our buses are old. They don’t have air-conditioning, they just have blowers. We sit surrounded by plastic and are drenched in sweat. We’re allowed a ten-minute break if it gets too hot, then we have to get back in the same sweltering cab again. I had to go home early because I nearly fainted, I was so dizzy. Then in the winter, they don’t have heaters either!”
One picket said: “This isn’t about pay, but we do need a pay rise as well. We’ve got a new prime minister but where’s the money? He’s talking about social care. I worked in social care for years, and they are very low paid. We all need a pay rise.”
“Pickets at Barking were feeling like they were finally getting the action they needed,” reports James Ivens. “They estimated the action was about 85% solid across the employer. Told me of incidents including a driver passing out from heat and being taken to hospital, and another colliding with a lamppost just the day before the strike, with photos showing him sweating and looking faint.
“Everyone I spoke to was saying the buses have to go back into public hands, and that the Arriva strike should be a step towards action across the franchises in London, on the litany of bus issues.”
Other workers, seeing the strike, were heard saying: “If they can strike over hot buses, why not hot schools and hot hospitals.”
- Further strikes are scheduled for: 18-21 and 25-28 August; 4-5, 7-8, 18-19 and 21-22 September; 2-3, 5-6, 16-17 and 19-20 October
