More than 1,500 Arriva London bus drivers are set to return to strike action next week after members rejected a proposed agreement in a consultative ballot.
Arriva North London bus strikes are set to resume from Tuesday 25 August after drivers rejected a proposed agreement in a consultative ballot.
Results seen by London Bus Forums News show 587 members voted against the proposals, while 501 voted in favour, with four spoiled ballots.
| Garage | No | Yes | Spoilt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Green | 153 | 28 | 0 |
| Grays | 54 | 47 | 1 |
| Stamford Hill | 143 | 11 | 0 |
| Barking | 7 | 50 | 0 |
| Tottenham | 58 | 129 | 0 |
| Enfield | 76 | 117 | 3 |
| Palmers Green | 64 | 87 | 0 |
| Edmonton | 32 | 32 | 0 |
| Total | 587 | 501 | 4 |
THE KEY POINTS
At a glance
- 587 drivers voted against the proposed deal, with 501 in favour
- Strike action is set to resume from Tuesday 25 August
- More than 1,500 Arriva London drivers are involved in the dispute
- Eight garages took part in the consultative ballot
- Only two of the previously planned 26 strike days had taken place before action was suspended
The vote means planned industrial action is set to restart next week after strikes were temporarily suspended while members were consulted on the offer.
Drivers at eight garages took part in the ballot: Wood Green, Grays, Stamford Hill, Barking, Tottenham, Enfield, Palmers Green and Edmonton.
The result showed a sharp divide between garages.
Drivers at Wood Green overwhelmingly rejected the proposals by 153 votes to 28, while Stamford Hill voted 143 to 11 against.
Grays narrowly rejected the deal by 54 votes to 47.
But the proposals received majority support at Barking, Tottenham, Enfield and Palmers Green, while the vote at Edmonton was tied at 32 votes each.
Despite support for the deal at several individual garages, the overall ballot resulted in the proposals being rejected.
When are the next London bus strikes?
The next planned strike action is due to begin at 4am on Tuesday 25 August and continue until 4.30am on Friday 28 August.
The company said it had agreed a package of measures with Unite following talks aimed at resolving the dispute.
The proposals included a commitment for suitable and sufficient air conditioning to be fitted or repaired on every bus ahead of summer 2027, alongside regular audits of heating and air-conditioning systems.
Arriva also proposed a review of its hot and cold bus policy, measures aimed at improving relations between drivers and controllers and the reinstatement of quarterly working groups with Unite.
The dispute involves more than 1,500 drivers across eight garages and has centred on working conditions, including extreme temperatures inside driver cabs and concerns over faulty or ineffective air-conditioning systems.
London Bus Forums News has previously reported two separate cases involving Arriva drivers who were sent home or marked absent after refusing to continue operating buses over concerns about extreme heat and non-functioning cab air conditioning.
In one case, a driver said the temperature inside his cab had reached 43°C.
Unite has previously said no worker should be disciplined for raising concerns about their safety and welfare.
Before the proposed agreement was announced, 26 days of strike action had been scheduled across August, September and October.
Only two strike days had taken place before further industrial action was suspended for the ballot.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
14m ago
11:06
Unite responds after Arriva deal rejected
Unite said workers were balloted on a new offer following negotiations between the union and Arriva, but members decided it did not go far enough to address the problems of working in hot weather.
The union said most Arriva North London buses have air-cooling systems rather than more effective air conditioning. Unite said the air-cooling system had only managed to reduce temperatures by around two or three degrees during the recent series of heatwaves, while driver cabs can reach 40°C and higher.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said London bus drivers were putting themselves at risk because of what she described as “appalling conditions”. She said strike action would continue until Arriva made changes its members could accept.
Source: Unite the Union
Just now
07:47
London bus strike: All 43 routes affected from Tuesday
Transport for London has confirmed 43 bus services are expected to be affected when more than 1,500 Arriva London North drivers return to strike action from Tuesday 25 August.
Barking garage
150, 175
Edmonton garage
158, 259
Enfield garage
121, 191, 192, 217, 279, 307, 313, 377, N279
Grays garage
66, 103, 248, 370, 375
Palmers Green garage
34, 102, 141, 675, SL1
Stamford Hill garage
19, 67, 76, 254, N19
Tottenham garage
41, 149, 243, 341, 349, N41, SL2
Wood Green garage
29, 221, 329, 616, W3, W4, W6, N29
TfL says little or no service is expected on affected routes during the strike. Night services are expected to operate normally on the night before each period of industrial action begins.
Source: Transport for London
So what exactly are the drivers who voted against the deal demanding? The concessions made by the company appear to be substantial. And given the number of buses in the fleet, it simply would not be possible to solve the problem of lack of A/C in drivers’ cabs immediately.
Why not list the actual routes affected? How difficult could that be?
Paying passengers are yet again held to ransom and have no say in the matter. Though they too suffer much worse temperatures on the buses and constant delays, early bus terminations on route and dirty buses.
We are just as important and have jobs at stake for these strikes and risk losing employment.
will the bus drivers go on strike if we have a really bad winter and the cabs are cold
For years now bus drivers have had to suffer sweltering heat in cabs without air condition. Passengers like wise.
The winter period is just as bad,with freezing cabs and passengers asking why there is no heating on the bus.
Vents blows hot in summer and cold in the winter months. With drivers unable to regulate the temperature on buses.