Just heard on the news that now the bus drivers want a bonus for the Olympics.I presume its because they will be busy,
isnt this their job.Not decrying any efforts in work but this bonus culture shows these people may not be in the spirit of the Olympics as they are now balloting for strike action [sounds about right]

Boris made a rod for his own back giving into the Tube drivers.....

He deserves everything he gets!!!!

Personally I would let them strike, buses are so over rated anyway!! Most people that use them don't pay for the privilege anyway. Let them walk for a couple of weeks, it would go some way to sorting out the child obesity problems!!

Let them strike and lose wages, then maybe they will come to realise they are overpaid for what they do bloody lucky to have any sort of job at all.

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Its not always the biggest and the bestest, its them that make the least mistakes.

Geezer:

There is a world, just outside where you live, where people rely on buses to get to work, visit families and attend hospital appointments. So whilst a bus strike may not affect your life, such a dispute would severely affect many - including those who use tubes which would be doubly busy. I hope common sense prevails and this dispute is called off asap.

Im all for the average working man/woman getting the best possible deal they can in a reasonable manner, but this whole 'Olympic bonus' thing is rapidly become farcical, with everyone seemingly jumping on the bandwagon.

Correct me if I am wrong but all the indications seem to point to London actually seeing LESS tourists and visitors thanks to a combination of factors, not least of which is LOCOGS spectacular failings on a number of fronts.

Its difficult to criticise the unions though when they see so many corprorates, vip's and hangers on riding the olympic bandwagon at the expense of the British ( and London in particular ) taxpayer. I for one will be glad when its all over.

This is a cop out by TfL

As they quite rightly say, all the buses are operated by private companies - but - each route is won by tender and to gain the work/win the tender, margins are tight. If they over quote then they lose the route.

The companies cannot afford to pay each driver £500 as that would mean they would be thousands out of pocket per route. I can only see striking as the outcome because the companies, especially the large ones just don't have the additional funds.

This whole thing is just union greed and none of them (rail, underground, bus, infrastructure) should have been paid any extra for just doing their job. In the case of buses, once it's full it's full and that happens now, same with the tubes, what 'extra' are they going to do ???

Let them vote themselves out of wages I say

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Lets be careful out there !

Common sense will not prevail.. They see the lure of easy pickings and think they have TFL over a barrel as a result of the tube drivers settlement. Even if the operators are prepared to negotiate you don't for one minute believe they will absorb the additional cost per driver? No! It will be passed on in higher fares for everyone.

If they do strike I acknowledge there will be some disruption but people will make other plans and muddle through, they always have before.

Moley makes a very good point about greed and the sense of entitlement I have spoke of before here. It is affecting this Country like a cancer, its not only the Olympics (although this event has produced it's chancers) it is endemic throughout society, from bankers to those evicting long established tenants so they can make a good killing on a let through the event.

Spain has now gone (Italy will be next) global financial Armageddon is coming. The reset will occur then we will see what the sense of entitlement is all about..

The strikes that occur now, are so far removed from the strikes back in the twenties where the bedrock was survival, today it is opportunism and greed, blackmail of the lowest denominator, it is so far removed from the concept of protection of workers rights to workers greed, a vehicle to obtain more and more, from them who have less and less, the rising cost of fares to fund this ransom money, when will they ever learn ?

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Its not always the biggest and the bestest, its them that make the least mistakes.

The majority of the people in Greece had the same sense of entitlement... Retirement at age 50 for bus and taxi drivers, closed shop to enter these trades, some of the best paid public service workers in Europe...

Look what happened to them when the markets turned on them!!

In terms of the national debt, the need to control the deficit (which ain't happening) and debt to GDP we are in pretty much the same boat as Greece. The only reason we are not experiencing the same is because the markets have weaker places to target first. It is no accident they are all falling over now like dominoes.

This is a global debt crisis and the UK's turn will come.

Our lot seem to think the pound is a safe haven, until such time the Euro domino's are all horizontal, 1926 taught us very little, the only Country to have taken stock of the situation is China, the one and only Country that has read the true situation of world economy, while the rest of us acknowledge the situation, and try and invent schemes, to stave off the inevitable, they have squirreled away much of the wealth in assets from the chaos, only once the dust has settled, will we see what the hidden disaster is, as it unfurles.

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Its not always the biggest and the bestest, its them that make the least mistakes.