Bus control room staff in south London will strike for six separate days starting on Friday in a row over pay.
Staff with Unite union at Abellio depots in Battersea and Twickenham will stage a walkout on January 19 and 26 and February 2, 9, 16 and 23.
The union says it will cause significant disruption to at least eighteen bus routes in south London.
Affected services include the 24, 27, 111, 156, 159, 267, 285, 322, 344, 345, 415, 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, R68, and the R70, said Unite.
Around 40 control room staff and managers are expected to head to the picket line after rejecting a five per cent pay increase for 2023 and into 2024, partially backdated, saying it was a real-terms pay cut.
An Abellio spokesperson said the strike was "disappointing", and that its offer was similar to increases given to other groups of Abellio staff.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Abellio’s poor pay offer will bring chaos to London as our members take strike action to fight for better pay.
“Abellio has hundreds of millions of pounds of revenue from lucrative London bus contracts and yet it is trying to short-change some of its most vital staff. It needs to understand our members won’t stand for it.”
But an Abellio spokesperson responded: "It is disappointing to see Unite take strike action following an unconditional offer of a 5% increase in salary, back paid to January 2023.
"This offer is in line with increases made to other groups of staff within the business. We have mitigation plans in place for the strikes and are working with TfL to ensure Londoners can continue to travel during this unnecessary action."
Widespread driver strikes called by Unite on Abellio services early last year were called off after Abellio bosses decided to impose a pay increase of 13.5 per cent.
Rosie Trew, Head of Bus Service Delivery at TfL, said: " We encourage Unite and Abellio to find a solution to this dispute. If this action goes ahead, bus services will still be available during strike days, but routes may be busier than normal.
"We’re encouraging everyone who might be affected to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journeys and check before they travel using our website or the TfL Go app.”
The travel disruption on some bus routes comes amid a series of strikes planned for national rail routes in a dispute between Aslef, the train drivers’ union and train operating companies.
The industrial action will take place between Tuesday, January 30 and Monday, February 5, affecting different operators on separate days.
Under the planned stoppages, drivers will strike at Southeastern, GTR Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, SWR Island Line, and South Western Railway main line and depot drivers on Tuesday January 30.
Strikes will take place on Northern Trains and TransPennine Trains on Wednesday January 31, and on C2C, Greater Anglia, and LNER services on Friday, February 2.
In addition, walkouts will also take place on Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, and West Midlands Trains on Saturday, February 3, and at Chiltern, CrossCountry, and GWR on Monday, February 5.
