London busworkers' pay boost

Most London bus drivers and conductors are earning an extra pst20 a week thanks to a new bonus scheme introduced on 1 April by Transport for London (TfL), the capital's new transport authority. It is hoped that the scheme, which has been pioneered by London mayor Ken Livingstone to improve service quality, will help reduce a 2,500 staff shortage through better recruitment and retention.

The bonus takes the form of a flat-rate payment of pst4 per shift, paid by TfL via company pay rolls, which will cost pst17.5 million this financial year. It has been welcomed by the T&G transport union, which is pursuing its own negotiating agenda in the London bus industry for a minimum rate of pst10 an hour and a reduction in the working week to 38 hours.