Bus drivers plan 24-hour strike

First drivers took strike action on the same issue in August

Bus passengers in south-east England face disruption as hundreds of drivers plan to strike in a dispute over pay.

Metrobus and First services in London, Sussex, Kent and Surrey will be affected by the 24-hour strike, which begins at 0300 BST on Friday.

Members of the union Unite want a standard £30,000 rate of pay for drivers across the bus network.

Metrobus said it had made a "good" pay offer and that it expected a number of drivers to work as normal.

'Finest' drivers

A Metrobus spokeswoman said the firm paid drivers up to £27,612 and that their salary had increased by more than 20% over the past five years.

Managing director Alan Eatwell said: "We are sad that our pay talks have come to this, particularly as we have proposed a 4% no-strings pay increase, which we believe to be a good offer in the present economic climate."

The firm has asked arbitration firm Acas to conciliate in the dispute, he added.

Drivers working for First are striking on the same pay issue, following previous action on 29 August.

Unite regional industrial organiser George Dodo-Williams said: "Mayor Boris Johnson acknowledges that London has the world's finest bus drivers.

"Yet these workers are being forced to take action to stake their claim for a share of the profits generated by their hard work."

The First bus routes affected are 9 (heritage service only), 10, 18, 23, 28, 31, 79, 83, 92, 95, 105, 187, 207, 223, 224, 226, 228, 245, 282, 295, 328, 331, 414, 427, 487, 607, A10, E1, E3, E5, E7, E9, E10, PR2, U1, U2, U3, U4, U5, U10.

The Metrobus routes affected in London are 64, 119, 127, 130, 138, 146, 161, 181, 246, 261, 284, 293, 320, 336, 352, 353, 354, 356, 358, 359, 367, 405, 464, 612, 654, B14, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R11, T32, T33, X26.

Metrobus routes affected outside London are 1, 2, 4/5, 6, 7, 10, 20, 23/24, 63, 81, 82, 84/684, 86, 89, 98, 100, 200, 270, 271, 272, 273, 280, 281, 291, 303, 391, 409, 411, 420, 430/435, 438, 460, 473, 491, 541/542, 594, 595, 604, 610, 624, 636, 636/648, 660, 692, 693, 694, 696, 901, 911, 912, 913, 914, 915, 916, 917, 921, ASDA.