More than 1,500 London bus drivers will resume previously paused strikes next week after negotiations grind to a halt.
Unite Union members rejected an offer from Arriva North London following a dispute over ‘hot’ working conditions, so will restart the planned walkouts lasting until late October.
A four-day strike next week will recommence the extensive industrial action, with picket lines forming from Tuesday, August 25, until Friday, August 28, Unite announced today.
There will be eight strike days in September followed by a further eight in October across both weekends and weekdays.
Drivers will walk out from bus garages based in Barking, Edmonton, Enfield, Grays, Palmers Green, Stamford Hill, Tottenham and Wood Green.
Disruption will be compounded as some of the dates will take place at the same time as planned closures for the Piccadilly line as its new trains are tested in August and September.
Unionised bus drivers are demanding that Arriva North London’s buses are fitted with ‘more effective’ air conditioning, rather than the current air cooling systems.
They claim the cooling systems in place only manage to reduce temperatures by around two or three degrees during the recent series of heatwaves in which driver cabs can reach 40 degrees and higher.
More than 1,500 bus drivers are taking industrial action in London in protest at working conditions – Unite trade union members are seen here in Stamford Hill, north London
A London bus driver takes a break in the shade during a heatwave in June this year
They said this created an ‘increased danger of fatigue and also led some to suffer health problems including heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration.’
Industrial action had already begun last Friday and this Tuesday and affected more than 40 routes with major delays and cancellations.
But planned strikes were paused on August 19 and 21 as the union and Arriva came to the negotiating table.
Unite regional officer Steven Stockwell said: ‘There is still time for Arriva to stop this disruptive action, but it relies on it coming back to the table with a deal our members believe will solve the serious problems with conditions once and for all.’
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘London bus drivers do a vital job, but are putting themselves at risk due to these appalling conditions.
‘Arriva can fully afford to make meaningful changes our members can accept. Until that happens, strike action will continue and our members at Arriva North London will continue to have the full backing of Unite.’
Arriva’s latest figures from mid-2025 showed it had reported a pre-tax profit of €156 million and an operating profit of €127 million.
Wasim Mohammed, Managing Director, Arriva London, told the Daily Mail that the company was ‘disappointed by the outcome of Friday’s ballot’.
He added: ‘This is despite an agreement that resolved every demand raised by the union and was subsequently taken by union officials to all their members across North London.
‘Only three of our eight garages rejected the proposals. However, as the ballot was assessed across London North as a whole, the volume of votes cast in two of these garages was sufficient to determine the overall outcome, despite a majority of garages voting in favour.
‘This result means that the jointly developed action plan has not yet secured the support required to bring this dispute to a close, and as a result, any further strike action could affect eight London North garages.’
Arriva remains ‘keen to resolve this dispute’, he added, and called for Unite to come back to the negotiating table to ‘better understand the concerns that remain among drivers and any additional measures they believe would help address them.’
He mentioned that Arriva was part of the extreme weather taskforce, established by Transport for London, where ‘meaningful progress is being made’ and that he is ‘confident this will deliver improvements for bus drivers.’
