by Andy Beadle, Retired bus driver
London bus drivers are getting restless. On 29 January, bus workers marched through midweek traffic, creating gridlock in Piccadilly and Whitehall, continuing to Parliament. Anger and frustration has spilled out.
In the Covid pandemic, dozens of London bus drivers died. At that time, they were called ‘key workers’ and were praised. Even so, it took direct action by drivers themselves to make buses safer for drivers — not the employers or Labour mayor of London Sadiq ‘son of a bus driver’ Khan.
Photo: London SP
Since then, things have only got worse. Cuts from central government — agreed with Sadiq Khan and now continuing under Starmer’s Labour government — have been trickling through. Buses are getting busier.
Drivers’ demands centre on fatigue. Drivers want clean toilets at the end of their routes. They need warm buses in winter and cooled buses in summer. They do not need controllers calling up and making demands while they are driving. They do not need forced overtime.
The protest assembled near Victoria bus station, site of the death of Kathleen Finnegan, who was hit by a bus exactly a year before. Some drivers met with her family and expressed condolences before the march departed.
Weeks after Kathleen’s death, Transport for London (TfL) had still not contacted her family. TfL’s neglect is familiar to bus workers. Deaths are now averaging 12 per year; and there are 1,200 hospital casualties annually as a result of bus collisions.
Unite
Drivers are increasingly frustrated by our Unite leaders on London buses too. Why have they agreed with TfL that it is okay to drive for 150 minutes without access to a toilet?
This demo wasn’t called by Unite bus convenors and officers, but it was largely composed of Unite members. That was shown by the domination of Unite flags and placards. Drivers want our union to highlight fatigue and to fight it. More Unite shop stewards and the union’s regional officers should have joined their members to show their support. If they genuinely believe the union, across the London bus companies, has already secured these rights, why aren’t they on the protests to listen to members and help us enforce them?
Every union branch needs to give its members confidence to demand decent conditions and safe buses, not just in writing, but always in real life. If new drivers can be bullied when they’re unsure, that undermines the strength of our trade union solidarity for every worker. The demand for workplace safety is ultimately a question of industrial strength: strong union branches in every workplace with active participation of the membership.
TfL only reflects the collective interests of the powerful private bus firms: the managing director of Surface Transport at TfL always comes from one of those firms, never a bus workers’ leader or safety campaigner. The mayor of London, as head of TfL, writes endless promises about safer streets but, for the companies, profit is the priority.
Renationalise
Without nationalisation with democratic workers’ control and management, big private companies’ priorities will always be profit.
Elections for shop stewards and officers are imminent in every Unite branch. Make sure the people representing our garages are really getting through the opinions of your local membership to the wider union. If they are, help them. If not, don’t waste time, elect new ones. Not just one person — a supporting team of active members is best.
More members on London buses are demanding change and working out how to achieve it. Get involved!