Boris Watch

New permanent Chairman of TfL Boris Johnson will have another little industrial problem to manage on his return:

Members of the Unite union are demanding an equal rate of pay for drivers across the bus network, which is operated by 18 different companies.

Unite said 2,500 staff employed by First will walkout for 24 hours from 0300 BST on 29 August and again for 48 hours on 12 September.

They voted to strike after rejecting a 3.5% pay increase from First who maintained it was a “good offer”

Oh dear. Perhaps Boris could seek advice from TfL Board member Patrick O’Keeffe, recently reconfirmed in the seat he’s held since 2004. Mr. O’Keeffe is Deputy Regional Secretary for, er, UNITE.

Of course, TfL, having subcontracted bus operation, is pretty much impotent - they have to clear up the mess.  Bus routes I estimate would be affected (hey, TfL, get a list sorted) are:

West London

Regular buses: 79, 92, 223, 224, 245, 83, 95, 282, E1, E3, E5, E7, E9, E10, 105, 207, 427, 331, 607, A10, U1, U2, U3, U4, U5, U10, 9 (Routemasters only), 10, 28, 31, 328, 414, 23, 295, 18, 187, 226, 487

Night buses: N18, N207, N10, N28, N31

East London

Regular buses: 150, 165, 179, 193, 252, 309, 323, 365, 498, D6, D8

From the list there, I can confidently predict the effect on west London could well be ‘chaotic’.  The 207 (bendy) is a major artery, so is the 10, and the 18 (bendy) is hardly a backwater either.

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