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Olivia Harris / Reuters
Bus drivers stand on a picket line near the West Ham Bus Garage in east London on Friday.
Thousands of London bus drivers went on strike Friday, demanding a bonus of $780 for working during next month’s Olympic games.
The public transit authority, Transport for London, said two-thirds of the capital’s 8,000 red buses were off the road on Friday due to the action.
With just over a month to go before millions of athletes and visitors arrive for the games, union leaders have issued a string of demand for extra payments.
Underground train drivers have already secured a bonus of up to $1,326 – in addition to overtime payments – while workers in the Docklands Light Railway system near the games site have negotiated a payment of up to $1,482.
“Transport unions have the Mayor, ministers and the Games organizers over a barrel,” Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, wrote in the Evening Standard newspaper. “No Olympics in history have been as dependent on public transport as London 2012. Indeed, a vow to get spectators to and from events by trains, Tubes and buses was a key element in the bid.”
Mayor Boris Johnson has said those who strike will not be eligible for an Olympics bonus.
He said the strike was "extremely frustrating" and added: "I can only conclude that this strike is being driven by hardline trades union militancy and a desire to have a strike for political purposes."
In a bid to avert the strike, Johnson last week offered a deal with a collective $12.9 million but the union, Unite, is still seeking payments totaling $32.7 million.
It wants every bus driver to be paid a larger bonus, even if they don't drive routes affected by the Olympics, including anyone off sick or unavailabe to work.
Some routes were running on Friday after their private operators secured a court injunction to prevent workers joining the strike.
ITV News is the UK partner of NBC News. Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com, contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
This Union is playing with fire.
They will perhaps get what they want now.
But there will be payment time and that will hurt, hurt bad.
At least to militant activist in the rank.
Meanwhile Supreme Court had put brake on Government Unions here.
Changing times.
Think this is bad by having the Olympic games and all want a piece of the pie...watch what happens in Rio in 2016!
This is nothing but UNION BLACKMAIL !!! The Unions must be busted.
gil you know nothing about what is going on over here so keep you pie hole shut
Union thuggery again, but they're not alone. Everybody seems to be bending each other over during the "Olympic Frenzy". Ain't greed somethin'? LOL!
greed for all I lived in atlanta during the 1996 olympics, everyone tried to cash in on the event Everyone!!
If the underground train drivers and the light railworkers are getting bonuses, why is it greed for the bus drivers to ask for a bonus (which, by the way is LESS, that the others are getting)? I think it's only fair and I hope they get it.
the bonus is not the issue, the issue is that the union wants to give everyone the bonus, even the drivers that are not working the Olympic routes, even the sick and unable to work drivers..........how the hell is that ok with u? If ur not working the routes or are unable to work then u shouldn't get bonus.
doom it dos not matter if you are sick or not in unions. if i am a bus driver we all get pad the same. no matter what.if you are a janitor you are all pad the same. no one is treated spacial
The train drivers and light rail workers shouldn't have been given a bonus in the first place just for doing their job. Since they did get it, however, everyone should get a bonus. By the way, what about the mechanics, cleaners, janitors etc? Seems to me that THEY are much more likely to have a heavier workload than the drivers. As the old song goes, "The Empire is finished", brought down by greed from within.
Have hotels and restaurants raised or lowered prices for the festivities?
What's good for the moose, is good for the mice!
Is it really greed when these people will have to deal with maybe 5 to 10 times as many passengers as normal and the government is drastically raising ticket prices during the Olympics? Why shouldn't the ones actually doing the work get a cut?
crybabies of greed unite!
I WANT MINE!!!!..... OR SCREW YOU!
Isn't that the whole attitude behind the capitalism we perpetrate here in America?
When business have that attitude its just business... when working people do it... its all of a sudden blasphemy.
yup look at all the to big to fail who wanted there shear of the Bail out. all except ford well done ford
The people should treat the bus drivers like they deserve. When you get on the bus, hit the driver in the mouth with rock!
So, I'm guessing that if at your place of employment one section of the workers got paid a bonus for working extra hours and extra shifts and yours didn't that it would be entirely acceptable for people to walk up to you and smack in you in the mouth with a brick?
Of course judging by your opinion someone probably already did whack you on the head at some point in time.
This bonus if for being employed and some semblance of among the living. Has nothing to do with the overtime they already get. Your moniker say even adjusting your meds wouldn't help in comprehension.
nibor, you're right it has nothing to do with overtime. It has to do with being required to work extra routes and not being allowed to take vacation time. In your case think of it as instead of being required to assemble 16 hamburgers an hour for your McJob that now you have to not only work extra shifts but assemble 20 hamburgers. You get nothing extra but the sodajerk, Jamie, gets a bonus for pouring extra drinks. Simplistic enough for you? Of course Jamie also gets that added rock in his mouth.
And as for your monitor, try looking in the mirror. Who knows you might even be able to read your name and no doubt the method you used to disguise it is indeed very appropriate: backwards.
The article didn't talk about why any of the drivers/operators felt they deserved a bonus in the first place. Is it just because it's the Olympics or is there some dynamic that changes their duties?
I really hope it's not just because it's the Olympics.
Certainly there is. There may be changes to their work schedules due to running extra buses (to accomodate the crowds), extra traffic to stress about, and a lot of passengers who are unfamiliar with the routes, fares, and in the case of international travellers, even the money and the language involved.
I've encountered this sort of thing - on a smaller scale of course - whenever our city hosts a special event, particularly if you're in the same neighborhood as the event. Even a major league baseball or football game can make a difference from one day to another.
The Olympics are the cause, but there's facets to it that will directly impact the drivers doing their job.
It will be a zoo for anyone working in London during the Olympics. I don't envy anyone working there at that time.
I'm a public transit driver - though not anywhere near London - and I can kinda see both sides of this. On one hand, yes, they'll just be doing their regular jobs. On the other hand, there's reports of landlords jacking up the rent on their tenants (which could possibly result in these drivers having to move or pay up... most bus drivers are firmly working-class payscale kind of people, I make about $27K a year in California), there's going to be vastly enhanced job stress (traffic, passengers unfamiliar with the system and/or language, etc.), and very possibly they will be required to work oddball or extended work schedules to accomodate extra runs or longer service hours on routes. All in all, I think the deciding factor is the other transit workers, many of whom have LESS passenger contact (when was the last time you talked to your train operator?), and are already getting bonuses.
So to compensate you advocate ramming it to the citizens some more. Spoken like a true union thug negligently wasting oxygen and skin.
Could you explain how this isn't "Blackmail"? Sounds like the Mob asking for "protection" money.
"You want people to get around London during the Olympics......then you pay up"
So, to the two posters above me you think drivers that normally handle 200 or 300 passengers a day who'll maybe handle 5 or 6 times as many people a day during the Olympics, many who can't speak english and require help shouldn't ask for a bonus during that time? The city is raising public transit fee's substantially during the Olympics even though they'll be running packed instead of 1/4 full but the people who actually do the work deserve nothing extra?. You listen to Romney too much, learn to think instead.
Uh.....Larry........they get paid by the hour doens't matter if it is more people the work is the same. It takes the same to drive an empty bus as to drive a full one. So your point is moot.............Priceless.
I agree that the bus drivers who will be affected by the Olympics should get a bonus, but the fact that they're asking for a bonus for the union members who can't work, are sick, or won't be affected by the events is ridiculous.
I completely agree. Give the ones who are working the actual games the bonus. But ones who aren't dealing with the Olympics - especially the sick and/or disabled ones - shouldn't get any bonus at all for simply doing their normal jobs.
As an aside, as much I enjoy the Olympics, I think there's enough empirical evidence which shows Olympic preparations practically bankrupt governments. Where would Greece be if they hadn't spent an inordinate amount of money for the 2004 games? Atlanta went through a problematic financial period following the 1996 games. How bankrupt is Rio and/or Brazil going to be after 2016?
I agree bonus's should be for those working during that time only.
Wow!!! I always thought the British people were above this type of crap. Sounds like an article form the USA not England or Great Britain.
England "or" Great Britain???
Maybe you meant the United Kingdom : )
You have no idea the difference driving a bus during normal times and the madhouse that the Oympics will be, trust me they deserve extra.
a bonus for working? sounds like a gravy train instead of a bus. i can't afford to fly to london and watch the games, so i think i should be paid a thousand for missing the games, i will go out by the mailbox now and wait for my check ( please do not make it out for euros, pounds will be fine )
You wouldn't expect extra if you drove a bus and would have to handle 5 or 10 times as many riders as normal and your boss was charging double normal rates? Man you're a real trooper and your boss is a pig.
The socialists cesspool that is England is unfit to host a lemonaide stand let alone the Olympics. In all fairness, they have established private traffic lanes for the politburo, tossed pensioners out of their apartments for fatter profits, and driven food prices to where anyone with a household pet lives in constant fear. Shutting down the bus system is of little consequence with no place to go, come from, or the ability to afford anything when you get there.
nibor - Your a cesspool
So why are still living in the US instead of wading around in the utopia back home?
nibor, because there are now too many like you living in MY country, running it down and trying to turn the UK into the country they left.
Rule Britania
Nibor - do you need a hug, hon?
nibor, you should be happy that dueling is outlawed.
Your a right winger, don't even pretend you'd care how many pensioners were kicked out of their apartments since it's people like you doing the kicking.
That's why England lost the war to the Americans-they're dumb! This will be the last time they host the Olympics for a long time. Wanna bet the Olympic committee won't remember this next time?
All texans are idiots.
Britain lost the revolutionary war against British subjects living in the colonies, (with French help) - tell me another war the US won without the UK on its side.
"In a bid to avert the strike, Johnson last week offered a deal with a collective $12.9 million but the union, Unite, is still seeking payments totaling $32.7 million.
It wants every bus driver to be paid a larger bonus, even if they don't drive routes affected by the Olympics, including anyone off sick or unavailabe to work."
LOL, Unions. Good job!
Come on Queenie - cough it up......lol. Sell one of those diamond tiaras or necklaces you have so many of.
Opportunistic extortion by unions?
Gee, who would have imagined that these ethical organizations would do something like this?
Greed at its best...! Had these union reps given it more thought, and waited another two weeks, they could have demanded, and received a "kings ransom".
These "games" will be a nightmare for tourists, without public transportation.
This is a typical case of " ask what your country can do for you, not what you can do for your country"
The selfishness and the greed of the union is well demonstrated.
Typical tea party logic. The government and private companies double rates during the Olympics and not a peep but if the people who actually have to do the extra work ask for more they're greedy. That's why the middle class is supposed to give Romney his 35% to 25% tax cut and pay for it by giving up our home mortgage deduction and employer health care exemption. You can rant all you want no one but you will drink the kool aid.
Dear Friends:
Unions have a purpose and are legal. They also help negotiate and sometimes keep strikes from happening.
Union strikes are a part of England's history. It is unfortunate and sad that they choose to strike during the Olympics! Olympics are supposed to be without incident. I hope they reach a resolve!
God be with them and our Olympics! Let the Games Begin!
Yeah baby! The power of a righteous strike. The only thing these capitalist pigs appreciate is the bottom line, so mess with that and you'll get something. Of course in today's world what you often get is fired, and nobody will help you with that, but they will smirk and wag their heads and say, "How could you be so stupid!?" Taking pleasure in another's misfortune. It's a german term, Schnerderfruende? something like that. Too much of that in the world. Like James Brown sang, "I've got mine, don't worry about his
Sorry but not all driver's should recieve compensation for the greater work load. And that arguement 'we all get the same pay' doesn't work unless everyone gets paid overtime wage when just one driver work's it. Personnally I'd be a bit pissed if I had to work my arse off for the bonus while other's sat at the pub drinking up their's!
I wonder how the driver's who are effected would feei if they were to find out that double what the union is asking for all drivers. Was going to be paid to the smaller group of effected driver's, but the union's cut was by man not by the amount.
But never mind all that now there's good new's oleboy', no need at all for a bonus. The olympic commitee has decided that the red bus driver's, being the most important, and busiest of all transport. Will all work a shorter shift day's and have one extra day off with absolutely no overtime. To insure the public is protected from any chance of a fatigued driver at the helm. So enjoy the time off and best wish's to mum and see you at the union hall burning.
I doubt any here support any but those working during the Olympics getting extra but that's not our call.
Yes, they should - it is called overtime.
What they are doing now is called extortion.
Gouge the rich.
The Olympics are going to be a disaster in crowded, expensive price-gouging London.
Do like President Reagan did and FIRE THEM ALL !
Hire Americans who are out of work ! At least they mostly speak the language...