20,000 London bus drivers in strike vote over pay

Over 20,000 bus drivers across London’s 18 bus operators began voting today on whether to strike over pay disparities across the capital’s buses – in a campaign to secure a London-wide agreement covering pay, terms and conditions.
In contrast to London's metro drivers, there is not one collective pay deal for bus drivers in the capital, whose pay is negotiated on a company by company basis leading to pay inequality and disparities between drivers driving the same routes.
A refusal by the bus operators to address the issue has led to pay gaps of over £2 an hour for new starters opening up with pay varying from £9.30 to £11.46 an hour depending on the company.
The ballot of the members of Unite closes on Thursday 18 December, raising the possibility of strike action in the new year if London’s bus operators continue with their refusal to enter talks. A consultative ballot in November saw 96 per cent of members indicate they would be willing to strike.
http://www.unitetheunion.org