L.T.B. Recruiting Problem is Easing
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From our Industrial Correspondent
A FTER its manpower troubles, particu larly during the past 12 to 18 months, London Transport seems to be on the way to making good its shortage of bus crews. There has been an improvement of 503 in the number of busmen employed by the board during the first nine months of this year, compared with a net loss of 809 men and women during the same period last year. The actual figures for the January to September period are; 5,495 busmen left the service and 5,998 joined.
The Board hopes to have overcome its recruiting difficulties within the next 18 months. At present, with 36,200 busmen on the books, they are a little more than 4,000 short of the "establishment ". By April, 1966, it is hoped that this figure will be reduced to between 1,000 and 1,500.
Mr. Anthony Bull, the Board's labour relations member, announced last week that the improvement is expected to be maintained so long as competition for labour did not intensify, and that possible recruits were not seared away by industrial trouble.
The Board is convinctd that the main reason for its better recruiting record is the pay settlement reached earlier this year following the inquiry by the Phelps Brown Committee. This added 385. a week on average to the pay packets of busmen and brought the average wage of a central London bus driver to £17 8s. a week.