The dispute between bus drivers and Stagecoach over fatigue has dragged on since March
Seven East London bus routes have been hit by strikes for the fourth time this year. More than 300 drivers at the Bow bus garage are striking from Wednesday, May 27 till Friday, May 29 and from Thursday, June 11 until Sunday, June 14 amid a dispute around scheduling and fatigue.
Unite the union claims the East London Bus & Coach Company, part of Stagecoach, is making drivers complete multiple hour-and-a-half journeys without breaks and often scheduling their next shift just 10 hours after finishing for the day. Union officials also claim the company is refusing to schedule meal relief breaks at the depot, leaving them without a suitable area to recover and risking passenger safety
“Our members are raising legitimate concerns with Stagecoach about fatigue, which is not only putting them at risk but the general public too – yet they are being ignored,” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said.
7 bus routes affected
- 8
- 25
- 205
- 425
- N8
- N25
- N205
- The 25 and 425 are expected to run a near normal service for most of the day throughout the strikes. The other affected routes are likely to be severely delayed and subject to cancellations.
“It is high time Stagecoach treats this problem with the seriousness it deserves, rather than pushing forward with these dangerous rotas. Our members at Stagecoach have our full support.”
Previous strikes in March, April and early May caused widespread disruption on routes that run into Central London and to the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford. The union claims Stagecoach has engaged in “strike breaking activity” by bringing in drivers from elsewhere in the UK to limit disruption during the walkouts.
“Instead of listening to our members at Bow bus garage, Stagecoach has instead chosen to attempt to break the strike,” Unite regional officer John Murphy added. “Despite this, drivers remain united on the picket line and determined to win the fight for better conditions.
“This escalating strike action will no doubt cause further disruption to bus services – but this is the fault of Stagecoach. There is time to avoid further industrial action but that relies on it coming back to negotiations and working with Unite to resolve, not worsen, driver fatigue.”
A Stagecoach spokesperson said “schedules, driver duties and rotas are compiled strictly within the law” and are “comfortably within agreed” limits, despite recent changes to routes.
The company said it has held “detailed discussions” with Unite for “many months” and is open to continuing them to resolve concerns.
They added: “There is no reason for any driver to work fatigued as they are encouraged to say if they are not safe to drive before and during all duties and are not financially penalised if they do so.”
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