“Because I’m struggling, I ask myself if I’m doing something wrong, letting my son down all the time. There’s a media narrative about benefits. I feel guilty that someone is subsidising my pay. I’m now the archetypal single parent claiming benefits. That’s my tag. That’s all I am now.”

The irony of claiming government help to work full-time for an employer that is itself subsidised by UK taxpayers’ money is not lost on workers.

Even more absurdly, in their view, profits from their labour eventually find their way into the coffers of Deutsche Bahn’s sole shareholder, the German government.

Unite, the union representing 1,800 bus workers in the northwest, claims that Arriva’s UK bus division has paid 560m pounds ($676m) in dividends over the past 10 years.

Germany’s control over a key national asset operating as a private multinational company has had mixed results, earning it criticism at home.

However, the policy has made it possible to steer ambitious initiatives, such as a planned 13.6 billion-euro ($13.8bn) revamp of its rail network.

Meanwhile, the UK’s privatisation of bus services, deregulated everywhere but London since the mid 80s, has brought fare increases of 32 percent since 2010 and cuts in bus routes.

In this market, bus drivers have been pushed to the limit.

Simon Woolf, 57, a veteran driver, with nearly 30 years’ experience, has seen conditions progressively deteriorate.

Drivers are squeezed by ever-tighter timetables that do not allow time for proper lunch and toilet breaks, and they are constantly primed for checks by plain clothes inspectors.

And now, they are dealing with real-terms pay cuts.

“They’re stealing from you to pay you,” he said.

“If you don’t give them the power, they won’t treat you like that.”

An Arriva spokesman said he was unable to comment while current talks are ongoing.