London bus strike partly called off this weekend – but some routes still affected

The strike was scheduled to start at 5am on Friday

Around 60 bus routes in north west and south west London were expected to see strike action (Getty Images)

A London bus strike planned to cause disruption this weekend has been largely called off, the Unite union has said.

The scheduled strike by drivers, engineers and controllers was due to start at 5am on Friday (12 September) and continue until Monday morning.

Employees of bus companies London United and London Transit in the Unite union were in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Around 60 bus routes in north west and south west London were expected to see strike action during the planned weekend walkout.

Unite confirmed that the majority of London United staff set to strike had accepted a pay offer on Wednesday (10 September).

Additional negotiations between Unite and London Transit are scheduled to take place soon.

If an agreement is not reached, some industrial action could still go ahead on bus routes including 13/N13, 23/N23, 31/N31, 218, 295/N295 and 452.

First Bus, the owner of the two bus operators, said it had made an “above-inflation” offer to employees.

A spokesperson for First Bus told BBC News: “Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, and the above-inflation offer, which includes full back pay for all colleagues, demonstrates our commitment to supporting our people through the ongoing cost-of-living pressures while balancing the financial challenges we face as a business.”

Transport for London (TfL) said: “Strikes planned on services operated by First Bus are no longer going ahead. Services will run as normal.”

The strike action follows a working week of chaos for London commuters.

From Sunday 7 September, members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union took part in the week-long walkout, which paralysed Tube services.

Talks to avert the industrial action broke down on Wednesday, 3 September, with TfL saying the negotiations had ended with “no resolution”.

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