After two days of strike action at eight bus garages, bus drivers and their union Unite forced management at Arriva London North to the table. The first offer was rejected by drivers on a vote, and strikes continued in the last week of August.
The Socialist Party’s leaflet says: “Sharon Graham, the newly re-elected general secretary of Unite, is backing the strike. This is great – and one concrete way she could help the strikes is by helping them spread across the city. The best way to get a resolution to the issue of overheated cabs is by all-London action. Sharon Graham should organise a combine of Unite bus reps from all the different garages to discuss how we can make sure every garage is part of the action.”
The Socialist Party leaflet demanded that London buses are taken back into public ownership, and put forward what councils that say they are anti-austerity – such as the newly-elected Green councils in east London – should do to put the pressure on Sadiq Khan to throw out the private bus operators.
- See socialistparty.org.uk for the full leaflet. As we go to press, further strike days are planned.
A constant stream of drivers were reporting to the picket line in the heat of the afternoon sun at Stamford Hill in Hackney.
One picket described how occasionally they have to drive a bus that belches out large quantities of noxious gas that not only invades the cab, but can envelope the whole bus. As if on cue, clouds of acrid smoke emanated from a garage smoke stack, that polluted the whole of the street for 20 yards in each direction, including part of the school opposite.
The pickets also said they felt sorry for the public who are forced to endure the sweltering hot temperatures of nothing more than a greenhouse on wheels. Although this strike is primarily about hot cabs, in the winter months the opposite problem occurs, of drivers losing the feeling in their legs due to no heating.
The strike seemed very solid at Stamford Hill, and they want cast-iron guarantees on fully functioning air-conditioning that cannot be reneged on.
Brian Debus
A majority of drivers at Barking had voted to accept the offer, including several on the picket line. The pickets were clear that a union’s strength comes from unity, so as a majority across the Arriva garages had voted to keep fighting, that is what they’d do. A couple of them had been in two minds, but once they saw the picket line they knew they couldn’t cross it and joined it instead.
Alongside the issues in this strike, one driver explained how a fight was also needed on pay. “My wages have gone up from £10.40 to £18 over 20 years. In real terms that is a pay cut. With three kids I can’t afford to live on this”.
Hannah Sell
A just-qualified new driver joined the union and the strike, there and then on the picket line at Southbury in Enfield. At this garage, most drivers had voted to accept the offer, though they didn’t trust management. Still, the workers wanted to stand with their colleagues.
Ian Pattison
At Palmers Green in Enfield, I asked drivers what they thought the cost of installing air-conditioning in the cabs would be. I learned that we are not dealing with a small local bus company without recourse to significant funds. One striker told me that when he visits other countries in Europe, he sees Arriva buses.
According to the Arriva Linkedin page: “Arriva is the leading passenger transport operator in Europe, employing around 36,200 people and delivering 1.5 billion passenger journeys each year, with businesses across 11 European countries.”
Arriva was bought by I Squared Capital for 1.6 billion euros in October 2023 – a company registered in the Cayman Islands. Open the books – show the workers where the money is!
Sarah Sachs Eldridge
One rep said: “If it’s to monitor drivers and keep on at us, they sort out the technology straight away. But if it’s to make our working conditions better, we have to wait forever.”
