BUS WORKERS
Find out more HERE London bus drivers exhausted
London bus drivers descended on City Hall in the capital in August to demand action from Transport for London (TfL) and private bus operators after the publication of a shock new report into bus driver fatigue.
The report found that 21 per cent of bus drivers had to ‘fight sleepiness’ at least two or three times a week. Thirty six per cent had a ‘close call’ due to fatigue in the last 12 months, 17 per cent had actually fallen asleep at least once while driving and five per cent had been involved in at least one accident in the last year due to fatigue.
Unite is now calling on TfL to take decisive action in response to the report, whose publication was a direct result of the union’s lobbying. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who attended the
See page 22 STEEL Find out more HERE British Steel deal welcomed
In August Unite welcomed the news that the Turkish military pension fund Oyak has entered into exclusive talks with the government to buy British Steel.
Oyak announced that its subsidiary Ataer Holding has been granted the exclusive right to carry out due diligence of the steel firm for the next two months, with a full transfer expected before the end of the year.
The move will save about 5,000 jobs, most of which are based at British Steel’s steelworks in Scunthorpe.
News that Ataer Holdings is the preferred bidder comes after the ailing British Steel
fell into compulsory liquidation in May, following the government refusing to grant its previous owner Greybull Capital a £30m emergency loan to keep the company afloat.
“The overwhelming feeling of the 5,000 workers at British Steel is one of relief,” said Unite national officer Harish Patel. “Since May the workers have had their lives put on hold with the future of the company and their jobs being placed in an extremely precarious position.”
Patel noted that while the announcement is “not the end of the process”, it is still “a massive step forward.”
City Hall demo said, “I promise to work with Unite, TfL and the bus operators to improve conditions so that future generations can be proud to become bus drivers. This [report] is by no means the end.”
Unite regional officer John Murphy, (pictured right) slammed bus operators for blaming fatigue on the drivers. “Fatigue is caused by the bus operators and TfL,” he said. “Drivers won’t take the blame because of operators’ greed.”
9 uniteWORKS Autumn 2019
Mark Thomas
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