London bus strike 5 July called off but 24 July strike undecided

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Tomorrow’s London-wide bus strike has been called-off after Transport for London (TfL) offered a 50-50-share of bus profits made during the Games.

This means London bus staff working on 24 of the 29 days of the Games would get over £700, on top of their existing salaries.

But should Unite insist that all employees at bus operators across London get £700, then TfL has offered a payment of £583 for every employee.

Last week, mayor of London Boris Johnson announced a £8.3m cash pool to provide a Games bonus for bus workers.

The decision came after Unite leaders and bus employers were in talks with reconciliation service ACAS to reach a consensus for the past three days.

A decision to call off the strike on 24 July remains to be made.

Trade union Unite called for the strikes after bus drivers were refused a bonus for working during the Games. The union warned that it will increase its bonus demand by £100 each time there is a strike.

Announcing the offer, Leon Daniels, TfL managing director for surface transport, said: “TfL does not directly employ London bus workers and this is therefore an issue for the bus operating companies and Unite to resolve through negotiation.

“However, in order to address the perception that TfL will be generating significant additional bus fare revenue from the Games, we have offered to share any additional revenue with bus staff.

“The offer of additional funds from the bus operating companies and a share of any additional bus fare revenue generated during the Games means there is no justification for further strike action.”

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