East London bus strikes to affect seven routes for 24 hours

Seven bus routes in east London will be disrupted as drivers walk out in a long-running dispute over fatigue. Around 300 Stagecoach drivers based at Bow garage will strike from 05:00 BST on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday. The action is being taken by members of the Unite union, who say drivers are being made to cover long distances without adequate breaks between shifts, causing fatigue and increasing the risk of accidents. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Stagecoach of "behaving appallingly, overworking drivers, creating a huge issue of fatigue and not giving them essential breaks". A Stagecoach spokesperson said all schedules and rotas were "compiled strictly within the law that governs drivers' hours" and in line with long-standing agreements with Unite. They added that a fatigue policy was in place and said there was no reason for any driver to work when tired, "are encouraged to say if they are not safe to drive before and during all duties and are not financially penalised if they do so". The strike will affect routes 8, 25, 205, 425, N8, N25 and N205. Transport for London (TfL) said the 25 and 425 were expected to run a near-normal service for most of the day. T