Unite warns of disruption to Notting Hill Carnival as bus drivers strike on Bank Holiday
Unite has warned of travel disruption for those going to the Notting Hill Carnival as over 1,000 bus drivers working for London United are set to strike during the Bank Holiday weekend.
Striking bus drivers operate from several depots including Park Royal, Shepherd’s Bush and Stamford Brook, which serve routes close to the carnival.
Transport for London (TfL) said only a handful of routes directly serving the celebrations will be impacted.
“Our website is a really easy way to check your travel, whether you’re planning to visit the Notting Hill Carnival, out and about on the bank holiday weekend, or just need to adapt your journey on the go,” said Louise Cheeseman, director of buses at TfL.
Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham accused London United’s owner RATP of refusing to pay its workers “a decent pay increase” despite being “an incredibly wealthy company.”
According to the union, the dispute stemmed from workers being offered a 3.6 per cent pay increase for 2022 and 4.2 per cent next year, while the retail price index stands at 12.3 per cent.
“Our members play a vital role in keeping London moving and they are not going to accept a real terms pay cut when they are already worried about how to make ends meet,” she said.
It is understood that, overall, the increase would amount to 7.95 per cent, in addition to a bonus in December.
RATP rebutted the accusations and said: “In these difficult times, we are very concerned that should these strikes go ahead, our drivers will be out of pocket for three consecutive weeks and passengers will continue to suffer disruption.
“We call on Unite to return to the negotiating table so that drivers can receive their pay rise and we can restore services to passengers without further delay.”