Socialist party member in unite
Unite members at Arriva London North have won a huge victory following strike action to protest the appalling temperatures on buses.
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “This is an excellent win for our members, who stood together on picket lines to fight for and win an agreement that means that drivers are not simply expected to sweat it out. Unite members have once again shown the value of collective union action.”
Hot working temperatures are not a new problem. But this is the first time that bus workers in London have taken strike action and won a groundbreaking agreement.
It is also an example of how trade union action, through strike action, can fight the impact of climate change in the workplace. This win provides the platform for a campaign for a wider debate about the role of unions and climate change, while at the same time making a huge difference to workers.
The key parts of the deal are that drivers will be able to return vehicles after 35 minutes of driving, should the air-cooling system or air-conditioning not be working. At present, drivers are just expected to drive on. Should drivers feel unable to return the vehicle to the depot, they can park up after 35 minutes.
Defective buses will not be put back out on routes until repaired. At present, when they are returned, buses have simply been allocated to another driver.
The agreement includes a written commitment for all buses to be fitted with air-conditioning by May 2027.
The 35 minutes only applies to diesel/hybrid buses. Electric vehicles have been accepted as only needing a few minutes. Importantly, the agreement also covers cold buses – at present drivers must do an hour. The agreement will mean auditing and repairs carried out through the year.
Drivers have made clear that they have no trust in the employer. Further, the target date of May 2027 for the retro-fitting is a tight one. For both reasons, the union is not cancelling the strike mandate.
While the strike dates already given have been lifted following the members agreeing the deal, the strike mandate remains for another eleven months, so that should the employer renege on the agreement, then ten days’ notice can be given for further strikes (rather than a reballot).
The task now will be to use this brilliant win by calling an industrial combine of all Unite bus reps, to take up the issues of temperatures and the wider driver-fatigue issues. And continue to campaign for buses to be brought back into public ownership.
But in the immediate, this must be recognised as a significant win and one that would not have been achieved without strike action.
The strike action by Arriva drivers, and the threat that this could spread across London, has rattled the bus bosses across the city. On Wednesday 9 September, Unite announced that it has “secured agreement for major improvements to working conditions for London’s bus drivers. Following Unite’s campaigning work around hot weather working, Transport for London and the capital’s bus operators have now committed to fitting all London bus driver cabs with air conditioning by May 2027.”
