Bus union threatens to strike over Games bonus

London buses will come to a halt next Friday as workers walk out in a strike over not being paid an Olympic bonus.

Unite, the union which has organised the strike, claim it is over "operators' refusal to recognise the 'massive increase' in workload for their workers during the Olympic Games".

The Union is demanding a £500 bonus for bus workers. Workers from Network Rail, Docklands Light Railway, Virgin Rail, London Overground, London Underground and BAA staff are all receiving bonuses of between £500 and £1,200.

Ciaran Nadoo, a spokesperson for Unite, said unless an offer was made, the strike would go ahead. "So far no-one from TfL has agreed even to speak to us and unless an offer is made, almost every bus driver in London is a member of Unite and we are not expecting anyone to cross the picket line," he said.

Millions of people use London's buses every day. There will be considerable disruption if the strike goes ahead.

Unite regional secretary for London, Peter Kavanagh, said: "This dispute could be resolved at a stroke but if the bus companies and TfL continue to do nothing, Unite will call further strikes up to and during the Olympics. There is no moral or economic justification for treating bus workers like second class citizens. There is a clear precedent for rewarding bus workers for keeping London moving over the Olympics."