London bus strike 2015: Commuters face chaos getting home... as Mayor says union's pay demands are 'wrong'

 
Commuters wait at a central London bus stop Picture: Glenn Copus

Boris Johnson today warned of the cost of giving into union demands as millions of Londoners faced chaotic journeys home tonight because of a bus strike.

The Mayor apologised to passengers after about two-thirds of buses were stuck in garages - causing major overcrowding on the Tube and huge queues outside stations.

Transport for London warned of “significant disruption” continuing into the evening rush hour and admitted services would not return to normal until tomorrow.

Mr Johnson said that giving in to demands for a Londonwide pay rate for bus drivers would cost £100 million and force TfL to increase faces and cut services.

Describing a uniform rate as “wrong”, he told the Standard: “It wouldn’t reflect the different conditions around London. It would be interfering with the bus routes.

Commuters on one of the few London buses in operation today Picture: Glenn Copus

“Driving a bus in the leafy suburbs is very different from other more congested routes. For 23 years at least they have had different pay and conditions. It’s a matter for the bus companies.

“If anyone were so insane as to give into the union demands and impose a flat rate across London, which anyway would not be within my power to do, it would cost the bus companies about £100 million, probably more.

Many commuters found themselves walking to work

“It would immediately hit fares, hit services and be bad for the travelling public. And don’t forget for some drivers it would mean a big cut in pay.”

The union Unite called the 24-hour action “as a last resort” in a bid to force the 18 private bus companies that operate TfL’s 670 routes in the capital to agree a common pay structure.

The union said some drivers were paid a starting salary of £3 more per hour than others. Basic pay rates range from £9.30 to £12.34 an hour.

Unite regional officer Wayne King said: “Today’s strike action has been solidly supported and illustrates the depth of anger over the huge pay disparities among the people who keep London on the move.

“TfL and the Mayor need to take a look at the streets of London today and bang the bus operators’ heads together to end the pay inequality on London’s buses.”

About 16 per cent of the 24,500 London bus drivers - 3,961 union members - voted in favour of taking action. Unite today estimated that up to 20,000 drivers had not turned up for work. It said there were picket lines at 70 bus garages. Only 44 suburban bus routes were unaffected.

A Unite spokesman said no further strike dates had been set but the union would “take stock” and consider its next move if the bus companies refused to negotiate.

This morning there were chaotic scenes at dozens of stations including Victoria and Brixton as passengers piled on to the Tube. At Finsbury Park, passengers jostled for seats and surrounded TfL officials asking for travel information. However there were also reports of bus stops being quieter than expected as travellers sought different routes.

London bus strike 2015

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Mr Johnson said: “We are doing our level best to help to mitigate the impact of this strike. Obviously I’m very sorry for all the disruption that’s taking place. There will be an impact on millions of commuters today.

“I urge the bus companies and their employees just to get round the table and sort it out. It’s not something that TfL can intervene in directly.”

He said the Government should make it harder for unions to declare strikes without the support of a majority of workers. This is likely to be included in the Tory general election manifesto.

“In New York mass transit workers are not allowed to go on strike,” he said. “In Spain and Italy they have restrictions on the level of service they can provide. This is a very, very modest step forward that would protect the public from strike action by a minority of public transport workers.”

Val Shawcross, Labour’s transport spokeswoman at City Hall, backed the call for a Londonwide pay deal. She said: “This strike had 84 per cent of Unite members voting in support. London’s bus drivers are not militant, in fact this is only the second Londonwide bus strike in 50 years.”

Mike Weston, TfL’s director of buses, said: “As the bus companies who employ the drivers have said, it makes no sense to pay all drivers precisely the same amount.

“As in all professions, bus drivers have different skills and experience and it is only right that this can be reflected in pay. If all drivers are paid the average then by definition half of all bus drivers will need to take a pay cut. Any ‘levelling up’ of pay to the highest rates would lead to a cut in bus services, an increase in fares, or both.”

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