Bus control room workers in South London will strike on six separate dates starting this week after rejecting a 5per cent pay rise. Around 40 staff who work at Abellio depots in Battersea and Twickenham, and are members of union Unite, will walk out on 19 and 26 January, and 2, 9, 16 and 23 February.
Unite slammed Abellio’s offer of a 5pc pay increase for 2023 as a “substantial real-terms pay cut”. It said the strike will bring travel chaos to the capital affecting at least 18 bus routes, mainly in South London.
Abellio said the strike action was “disappointing” and that its offer was similar to those made to other groups of staff in the company. It added it had plans in place to mitigate the impact of the strikes.
Unite claimed Abellio control room staff earn around “£10,000 per year less than similar staff at other bus companies” and had been offered a “smaller pay increase than that offered to members doing the same job at competitor companies”. The workers use satellite GPS systems to monitor bus routes across the capital.
The union said affected services will include the 24, 27, 111, 156, 159, 267, 285, 322, 344, 345, 415 , 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, R68 and the R70.
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said: “Abellio’s poor pay offer will bring chaos to London as our members take strike action to fight for better pay. “Abellio has hundreds of millions of pounds of revenue from lucrative London bus contracts and yet it is trying to short-change some of its most vital staff. It needs to understand our members won’t stand for it.”
Maxine Loza, regional officer at Unite, added: “These workers provide an absolutely vital service to bus drivers and passengers. Yet Abellio is treating them with disdain with this pay offer. Abellio needs to come back to the table with an improved offer to avoid ruining the journeys of millions of Londoners.”
An Abellio spokesperson said: “We have negotiated with Unite since April 2023 regarding pay for its members in our controller and officials staff groups. It is disappointing to see Unite take strike action following an unconditional offer of a 5% increase in salary, back paid to January 2023.
“This offer is in line with increases made to other groups of staff within the business. We have mitigation plans in place for the strikes and are working with TfL to ensure Londoners can continue to travel during this unnecessary action.”
Image: Abellio bus depot in Twickenham. Credit: Google Maps
