Bus drivers in London will go on two-day strike over pay this weekend, their union said on Wednesday, as decades of inflation spark strikes in Britain’s ailing economy.
Around 1,600 drivers from London bus company United will operate the Sunday and Monday break on the traditional long weekend at the end of summer, union Unite said.
The strike, which will only affect some of London’s famous red buses, could prevent people from boarding the annual Notting Hill Carnival, which takes place over both days and typically draws up to two million people.
Unite accused French company RATP, which owns London United, of offering drivers a “real pay cut” in negotiations over pay.
The company is offering an increase of 3.6 percent for 2022 and 4.2 percent for 2023, despite the fact that last month the UK inflation rate hit double digits for the first time since 1982.
“It (RATP) can certainly afford to pay its workers a decent wage increase, but it refuses to do so,” said Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary.
A spokesman for RATP said it remains “keen to resolve the dispute as soon as possible and we urge Unite to reconsider our invitation to return to the negotiating table”.
The hiatus is the latest by public and private sector workers in the UK, as the rising cost of living has prompted employees to seek pay rises to keep up with their mounting bills.
London Underground and national railway workers have carried out a series of strikes in recent months, while the unrest has hit numerous other industries and sectors.
They range from dockers in Felixstowe – the country’s largest container port – and refuse collection in Scotland to criminal defense lawyers across England and Wales.
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