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More than 1,500 bus drivers from eight garages in London will strike in a dispute over working conditions.<\/p>\n
Members of Unite employed by Arriva North London are set to walk out on 26 dates from August to October, with services across north London and Essex affected.<\/p>\n
The strikes follow a row over conditions in hot weather this summer.<\/p>\n
The union has called on Arriva to improve conditions to protect drivers during extreme heat, and has accused the operator of failing to act on complaints about conditions.<\/p>\n
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A London bus driver takes a break in the shade on during a heatwave<\/p>\n
Getty<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Arriva told The Standard that they are not yet in a position to provide specific route-by-route details of the impact of the strikes, as level of disruption will depend on staffing levels on the days when walkouts occur.<\/p>\n
They added that they do not expect to know which routes are expected to be impacted until just a day or two before the strikes – which could lead to even more traffic pain for commuters, who will not be able to plan their journeys ahead of time.<\/p>\n
A Unite spokesperson told The Standard: \u201cWe would expect a lot of severe disruption, cancellations and delays as there\u2019s so many drivers and garages involved.\u201d <\/p>\n
Why are the drivers striking?<\/p>\n
The dispute centres on conditions inside buses, with Unite announcing the strike in a bid to ensure all are fitted with effective air conditioning.<\/p>\n
Many buses have reached unbearable temperatures for passengers and drivers during the recent heatwaves, with most fitted with air cooling rather than more effective air conditioning systems.<\/p>\n
These systems only blow in outside air, leaving drivers exposed to temperatures of 40C, with some comparing their cabs to “greenhouses”.<\/p>\n
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Condtions on London buses this summer have been sweltering<\/p>\n
Getty<\/p>\n
Some drivers have said they feared for their own safety, and have experienced heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration this summer, according to Unite.<\/p>\n
While drivers have been told they can take breaks when needed, many feel under pressure to keep services running for the sake of passengers.<\/p>\n
Drivers stage a \u2018Bill of Rights\u2019 rally<\/p>\n
A number of London bus drivers staged a rally outside TfL’s Palestra offices in Southwark, on Thursday, demanding a \u201cBill of Rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rally was organised by individual bus drivers, taking place independent of any unions.<\/p>\n
The Bus Drivers’ Bill of Rights is a list of demands, made up of twelve points.<\/p>\n
The list includes drivers having access to toilets on all routes, proper rest breaks, no forced overtime, and working air-cooling and heating systems.<\/p>\n
While the strike is not related to all the issues in the proposed Bill of Rights, it is linked via the demands for better working conditions in heatwaves.<\/p>\n
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Sir Sadiq Khan has come under fire from London bus drivers<\/p>\n
Greater London Authority\/Caroline Teo<\/p>\n
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has previously pledged support for drivers during heatwaves, but no specific measures have previously been outlined.<\/p>\n
Some drivers who attended the protest blamed the mayor for the conditions, with one telling ITV: \u201cWe don’t get treated right by passengers, TFL, Sadiq Khan, or even other road users.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople really don’t understand the amount of disrespect we get while trying to help out Londoners. The Bill of Rights would make buses safer to operate for drivers and for passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n
One driver named Jason told the BBC that “life is not good”.<\/p>\n
He said: “There’s the toilet dignity issue which means that on certain routes there are no toilets or the toilets are of extremely poor quality.<\/p>\n
“Driving in the summer is stifling. It’s horrible. We have thermometers in the cab and it’s got to over 40 degrees. It’s impossible driving in that temperature.”<\/p>\n
Toni, another bus driver, added: “I think if passengers knew the reality of the bus driver’s life, they’d be actually very frightened. I regularly feel so fatigued that I would feel slightly nauseous.”<\/p>\n
Reform UK Assembly Member Keith Prince, who first tabled the motion, told BBC London: “We’re living in the 21st Century – how can it be acceptable that bus drivers are expected to drive on a route and at the end of that, they haven’t even got the basic facilities of a toilet?<\/p>\n
“Completely unacceptable. And then when it’s hot, they’re being forced to drive in absolutely inhumane conditions and when it’s freezing cold, the same.”<\/p>\n
In response to the rally, a TfL spokesperson said: \u201cBus drivers play an essential role in keeping the capital moving. Alongside bus operators, we take their safety and welfare seriously and we rightly require operators to meet high standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe regularly engage with Unite the Union on these matters. We are working together on a range of measures to further improve working conditions, health and wellbeing. We are committed to ensuring that all staff have a fair work schedule, with safe vehicles and access to the facilities they need to carry out their roles effectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to reassure colleagues again that any reports from drivers are always fully investigated, and our operators should never take action against people raising concerns about welfare.”<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for TfL said the strike action is expected to hit local bus routes in north and some central London areas, with some routes busier than usual.<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cWe encourage both parties to find a solution to this dispute and we\u2019re sorry for any disruption to people\u2019s journeys.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 1,500 bus drivers from eight garages in London will strike in a dispute over working conditions.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[41988,31657,4832,27,473,35,1457,41989],"class_list":["post-99420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-arriva","tag-bus-drivers","tag-heatwave","tag-london","tag-sadiq-khan","tag-strike","tag-tfl","tag-unite-the-union"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117055909152507645","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}