London 2012: London bus drivers vote to strike over bonuses - BBC News
Bus workers in London have voted to take strike action in a row over their workload during the Olympics.
Nearly 40% of Unite members working for 21 bus companies voted 94% in favour of strike action. No dates have been set.
The union, which is asking for a £500 bonus, says bus workers are the only London transport staff not in line to receive an Olympics bonus payment.
Transport for London (TfL) said bus workers were employed by private firms who set their pay.
Dates for strike action could be announced early next week.
Unite says it expects 800,000 extra passengers to travel on buses during the Games.
It said workers on London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railways, Network Rail and Virgin would all receive between £500 to £900 in extra payments.
In May, a survey of 2,955 London bus and rail passengers commissioned by the union found that 88% were in favour of Olympic bonus pay.
'Completely reprehensible'Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional secretary for London, said: "It's a disgrace that London's mayor, Boris Johnson, and the bus companies have allowed this dispute to get this far.
"Our members are only asking for an extra £17 a day which will just about buy you a pint of beer and a portion of fish and chips at the Olympics.
"Our members want the Games to be a success but their patience has run out."
Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "I am not surprised that 70% of London's bus drivers did not vote for strike action.
"That is because about 70% of London's local bus services are not affected by the Olympic Games.
"The whole country is really entering into the spirit of the Games and the overwhelming responsible majority are pulling out all the stops to make it a huge success.
"Only Unite appears to want to exploit it by adding a further multimillion-pound burden to the hard-pressed fare-payers and taxpayers of London."
Mr Daniels added that Unite had already negotiated binding deals for pay and conditions with each of the bus companies for this year.
"Attempting to tear up those agreements and get a new one with less than 50 days to go before the Games is completely reprehensible and out of step with every other provider of services in this city this summer."
LONDON CALLING: Sophie is the right choice - This is Wiltshire
LONDON CALLING: Sophie is the right choice
5:00pm Saturday 9th June 2012 in Latest News By Owen Houlihan
BRITISH Fencing performance manager Alex Newton has defended the selection of Winsley’s Sophie Williams in Great Britain’s Olympic team for London 2012.
The governing body’s selection process came under fire in some quarters after Williams, 21, and colleague Louise Bond-Williams were picked ahead of compatriots Jo Hutchison and Chrystall Nicoll, who held higher world rankings.
Hutchison and Nicoll subsequently launched an unsuccessful appeal after being overlooked, with the role of national sabre coach Jon Salfield – Williams’ coach in Truro – put under scrutiny.
However, the appeal was rejected by an independent panel and Newton has insisted Williams merited her place at the London Games.
The Wiltshire woman is currently preparing for the women’s sabre event at the senior European Championships in Legnano, Italy, next week, at which Bond-Williams, Hutchison and Nicholl will also compete.
Newton said of Williams: “(She) a fencer in her first full senior year who has had some good results and performances against the world’s best.
“In the toughest ever international competition environment (for women’s sabre), her performance trajectory is impressive.
“She is on a higher curve than our other women sabreurs. The performance team are confident that she will bridge the gap to the podium by 2016.
“At the time of selection she was ranked 59th in the world and is one of our brightest 2016 prospects and is also capable of producing a credible performance in 2012.
Newton added: “There has been much public speculation and commentary on the (women’s sabre) selections.
“In reality, all three athletes outside the top 50 were not considered as likely to produce a performance in the medal zone in 2012 and were therefore being considered as 2016 prospects.
“At the point of selection, there was no significant difference in the points and world ranking of the three fencers in contention.
“Following a detailed and thorough discussion, the clear view of the performance team was that although three sabreurs had broadly similar results over the qualifying period, Sophie Williams shows the greatest promise for the future, in particular for Rio 2016.
“We believe that we have a really well-balanced, talented team combining our very best experienced fencers with the finest prospects who have already shown competitiveness on the senior circuit.”
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