London bus drivers to receive wage boost due to Unite campaign
14 May 2018
London’s bus drivers will shortly see their minimum pay rates increase as a result of policies agreed between Unite, the UK’s largest union, and Sadiq Khan, mayor of London.
Unite brokered a deal with Mr. Khan last year which introduced the London Bus Driver Professional Pay scheme which sets the minimum rate that all new starters will receive. The initial rate was set at £23,000 on 1 April 2017 and it was agreed that it will increase by the Retail Price Index (RPI) each year.
The new rate backdated from April 2018 is £23,912. Experienced bus drivers will expect to earn more than the minimum pay rate.
The London Bus Drive Professional Pay scheme is one of a number of initiatives that Unite has agreed with the Mayor of London to improve working conditions for bus drivers.
In January this year a ‘licence for London’ was introduced for bus drivers, meaning that when any of London’s 25,000 bus drivers transfer between bus companies, in London, they will start at a pay grade equivalent to their previous rate of pay. Under the previous system, they would have been placed on the lowest pay rate, even if they had many years’ driving experience.
Read the full press release from Unite.