Travel should be back to business as usual from tomorrow
Travel may be back to business as usual from tomorrow(Image: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)
All London First bus strikes set to go ahead this weekend have been called off. Londoners who have been dodging Tube strikes all week will be glad to hear travel should be back to business as usual from tomorrow (Friday, September 11).
Strikes were set to disrupt a vast number of routes this weekend in the north-west and south-west of London. First Bus workers were planning to walk out from 5am on Friday, September 12 until the evening of Friday, September 14.
Part of the strike was called off on Wednesday, when the majority of workers due to strike accepted a pay offer from employer London United. Now, London Transit employees have also cancelled their planned walkout after reaching a resolution with employer London Transit, Unite the Union told MyLondon.
London has been plunged into travel mayhem this week(Image: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Both of the bus operators are owned by First Bus, who union members say is trying to deny workers hundreds of pounds in back pay, report TimeOut. Transport for London confirmed that bus services would be running as usual in a status alert.
It said: “Strikes planned on services operated by First Bus are no longer going ahead. Services will run as normal.”
London has been plunged into travel mayhem this week, as residents turn to Lime Bikes and heaving buses to get around the city. Commuters even reported a shortage of working e-bikes – many of which had broken or missing pedals following the surge in their use.
Union members voted overwhelmingly to take action after negotiations failed to resolve a long-running dispute over pay and conditions, following the union’s demand for a 32‑hour week. TfL has offered a 3.4% pay rise which it described as “fair” and said it cannot afford to meet the RMT’s demand for a cut in the working week.
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Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, said union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were “simply unaffordable” and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds. However, RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “[Members] are not after a king’s ransom, but fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing – all of which have not been adequately addressed for years by LU management.”
You can follow our coverage of the London Underground strikes here.
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