LONDON bus drivers warned their bosses today to stop ignoring “degrading” and “intolerable” working conditions, as they prepared to ballot for strike action.

Unite members urged firms not to continue a race to the bottom as the East London Bus Company, which is owned by the national operator Stagecoach, is currently trying to force its drivers onto a rota system whereby they work five consecutive weekends before having a weekend off.

The company’s management is also trying to force workers onto 65-hour “spread-over” shifts that could mean workers being left standing by bus stops for four hours at a time during gaps in their shifts.