Bus strikes begin in south and west London

Almost 1,000 Unite union members are taking part in the walkout

Thousands of commuters are facing disruption as Abellio bus drivers in south and west London begin 10 days of strikes over pay.

Almost 1,000 Unite union members at bus garages including Battersea, Hayes, Twickenham and Walworth are taking part in the industrial action.

The strike affects about 60 bus routes across London.

Many routes have a reduced service or no service at all, and buses that are running are much busier.

Unite says it comes after Abellio failed to "enter into meaningful pay talks", but the bus company said it had offered to introduce a new pay deal this month.

It is understood that as a result of the action, there may not be any buses running during the day from south and west London to and from Heathrow terminals 4 and 5, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A full list of the routes affected can be found on the TfL website.

Further strikes are due to take place on 25 and 26 November, as well as on 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17 December.

At the scene

By Harry Low, BBC London reporter

The horns are honking every other minute outside Walworth Bus Garage in Camberwell.

Buses, lorries and cars are all making their support heard as dozens of drivers in hi-vis jackets stand outside a depot with stacks of double-deckers whose route numbers and destinations have been replaced by the words "not in service".

Even members of Aslef, the train drivers' union which is also taking industrial action, have come along.

This picket line formed at 03:15 BST and won't be going anywhere any time soon, organisers say.

"We are strong, determined and having fun," says one.

Sarah Liles, from Unite, told the BBC Abellio was "the lowest-paying" bus company in the capital and the union was "aiming to get the equivalent of being the highest-paid bus drivers in London".

"We need it because drivers are going to walk, they'll leave to other companies to get better pay," she said.

Bus drivers "need this now to cover the cost of living... we can't afford not to strike," Ms Liles added. "The company need to realise we need a living wage."

Unite have also said that although its representatives were invited to pay talks in September, the union has had no further response from Abellio.

A spokesperson for Abellio London Bus said the company was "very disappointed" the walkout was taking place as, "we felt that negotiations had been productive as we had made an above-inflation pay offer as well as improved terms and conditions in line with Unite the Union requests".

"In recognition of the cost-of-living crisis, we offered to introduce the pay deal in November, well ahead of the January 2023 deadline for a new deal, ensuring that drivers benefitted from increased rates as soon as possible," they added.

Abellio also said it had received "no response from Unite the Union following our invitation to meet for talks hosted by Acas".

It is not the only industrial action London's bus passengers face, as 2,000 bus drivers employed by Metroline are also set to take seven days of strike action next month in a dispute over pay.

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