Eleventh hour talks to avert bus strikes held Eleventh hour talks aimed at averting a strike by London bus workers over an Olympic bonus will be held today. Thousands of members of Unite are due to walk out for 24 hours tomorrow over a claim for £500 for working during the Games. The conciliation service Acas said it will hold talks with the bus operators and Unite today. The development followed an announcement by London Mayor Boris Johnson that money is available for an Olympic bonus for London bus workers. I would say to those that are seriously proposing a strike that would be greatly disruptive - I say to them that cash is available but it is only available on the condition that Londoners are not disrupted and that there is no strike. There is ODA cash available to the tune of £8.3 million to compensate workers who are genuinely going to be doing more during the Olympics and Paralympics. Unite official Peter Kavanagh said: "The Olympic Delivery Authority has made £8.3 million available for the bus workers. The Mayor has instructed the bus companies to negotiate and we expect them to find the remaining money needed for a fair settlement. It is outrageous and irresponsible that the Mayor and the bus operators have left it until the 11th hour to negotiate when we have been seeking an agreement for nine months. We cannot call the strike off until we are persuaded that TfL and the bus companies are serious about resolving this dispute. With just hours left every minute counts. There are 20 bus operators. It's imperative there's a single forum to meet with the bus companies and TfL's involvement is vital in order to secure a deal. An Olympic Delivery Authority spokesman said: "Games-time transport operations need to be robust and represent the best way of providing staff and services. The ODA has always undertaken to meet TfL's additional operational costs relating to the London 2012 Games. These costs are fully funded and will be met through our existing operational transport budget.