London bus workers will now receive additional payments for working during the Olympics, removing the threat of disrupted services by strike action.
TfL welcomed news confirming Unite’s membership accepted the pay offer from bus companies for bus workers affected by the event. The pay deal was reached after the Mayor secured £8.3m from the Olympic Delivery Authority to give to the bus companies to help them settle the dispute. Staff will get a payment of £27.50 each time they complete a duty over the 29 days of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The average number of duties workers will complete will be 21, meaning most workers will get a £577 award.
TfL has also agreed to share any additional bus fare revenue generated during the Games which it proposes to split 50:50 with bus operating companies, on the condition it is passed on to bus staff, following the Games.
TfL’s MD of Surface Transport Leon Daniels said: “As the Capital prepares for this event, TfL and the Mayor sought to bring Unite and the companies together and we are pleased they have resolved this.” Unite’s Peter Kavanagh said: “Bus workers finally have a fair deal which recognises their contribution to keeping London moving over the Olympics. Strike action is always a last resort but for those who say it achieves nothing, we say just look at London’s bus workers. They would have been offered nothing by their employers and TfL would have done nothing unless bus workers took action to force them round the negotiating table.”
