Unite, which represents over 20,000 London bus drivers, is warning that the capital could face a period of widespread industrial action in early 2021 as workers are set to be balloted on attacks to…Read more…
‘Open the toilets to frontline workers’
On World Toilet Day today (November 19), Unite continued to push its long-running toilet dignity campaign, calling for all workers to have access to sanitation facilities. A new Unite survey…Read more…
First West Yorkshire bus drivers balloted for strike action
The travelling public in West Yorkshire would greatly benefit with the restoration of a full pre-Covid-19 bus schedules’ agreement and normal timetables, Unite said today (November 16). Nearly 400…Read more…
Heroes and zeroes
Every Friday here on UniteLIVE, we bring you all the latest heroes and zeroes amid the coronavirus crisis. Here are this week’s latest. HEROES Unite member Kofi Opoku This week Unite paid special…Read more…
‘We simply don’t have time’
Unite has vowed to escalate its campaign to introduce stricter safety measures for London buses after it emerged that Unite member Kofi Opoku, who worked for Metrobus and was based at the Croydon…Read more…
Unite victory on remote sign-on
Unite, the union which represents over 20,000 bus drivers in London, has secured a major victory in its campaign against the introduction of highly controversial remote sign-on operating procedures….Read more…
Face covering fines ‘will make little difference’ if rules not enforced
In the last three months, only about 400 fines were issued to people for failing to wear face coverings on public transport, figures obtained by Unite have revealed. The small number of fines…Read more…
Bus drivers begin strike ballot
London bus drivers employed by Singapore-owned Metroline will be balloted next week for industrial action which could hit the capital’s roads this autumn in a dispute over the company’s proposals to…Read more…
Covid smokescreen used to slash pay
Unite has launched an international campaign today (September 9) to stop the owners of the Manchester bus company Go North West from using Covid-19 as cover for making savage cuts to bus drivers’ pay…Read more…
Latest bus driver assaults ‘not isolated events’
Assaults on bus drivers continue apace amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a spate of recent incidents in the south west region, where the union has thousands of bus driver members. Unite condemned…Read more…
‘Up your game Arriva’ call
Bus company Arriva has been accused of a lax response to public and worker safety when one of its bus drivers tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.
The post ‘Up your game Arriva’ call appeared…Read more…
Metroline bus drivers take stand against remote sign on
London commuters should be braced for potential major travel disruption this autumn, Unite has warned. The union is in the process of preparing to formally ballot all its bus drivers employed by…Read more…
‘We will not allow our reps to be bullied’
About 500 Manchester bus drivers will hold a consultative ballot on whether they want to take industrial action after a senior Unite rep at bus company Go North West Limited was suspended for…Read more…
‘Odious sleight of hand’
A bullying culture and using Covid-19 as a smokescreen are the hallmarks of an attempt by Go North West to reduce the wages of 500 Manchester bus drivers by an estimated £2,000-a-year. Unite said the…Read more…
Heroes and zeroes
Every week here on UniteLIVE, we bring you the latest heroes and zeroes amid the coronavirus crisis. Here are this week’s latest. NHS workers continuing their fight for a pay rise Last week, we…Read more…
‘Instantly aggressive and confrontational’
Driving a bus has always been a stressful job, but the stresses have only increased amid the pandemic, where instead of just facing the usual challenges of driving a massive vehicle and ensuring…Read more…
Earlier lockdown could have saved London bus drivers’ lives
Imposing an earlier lockdown could have saved many bus drivers’ lives, a new report has found. The review into the high death rate of bus drivers amid the Covid-19 pandemic, commissioned by Transport…Read more…
A red-button blockbuster
The author has taken the events of 1913-17 described in his earlier Radical Aristocrats: London Busworkers from the 1880s to the 1980s (Lawrence and Wishart, 1985) and woven into them the fictional…Read more…
‘Every death is a tragedy’
“Independent, credible studies such as ones by the University College London and the University of Oxford and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have revealed how one of the tragedies of…Read more…
In the line of duty
It’s rare for Unite Ireland senior regional organiser Davy Kettyles to watch breakfast TV – he normally listens to Today on Radio 4. But on one fine May morning, Belfast-based Davy, for no apparent…Read more…