Auckland Bus Drivers Take Industrial Action

in General by Jon C — October 5, 2009 at 12:23 pm | 4 comments

Bad news for Auckland bus users - The Auckland Combined Unions has delivered notice of industrial action from this Thursday.

NZ Bus says: “We advise our customers to start thinking about alternate ways to get to work from Thursday.”

The Auckland Combined Unions represent the bus drivers and cleaners who work for Metrolink, North Star, Go West, Waka Pacific, LINK and City Circuit bus services.

Negotiations have been ongoing for five months. In order to avert industrial action NZ Bus filed an application for facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority on Friday 18th September to assist both parties to reach an agreement.

Today NZ Bus will ask the Authority to hear the case with urgency.

Zane Fulljames, GM Operations NZ Bus., says in a statement:

“The  unions have been talking to the media for the last week saying they are moving to provide notice of industrial action. This is impacting our customers’ confidence in the public transport services we provide. Confidence and reliability are critical factors in winning people over to public transport and retaining them as customers.
We are bemused by the Unions desire to initiate industrial action when the option of resolving the issue responsibly in facilitation exists. There are two clear pathways ahead of us. We invited the Unions to support facilitation with the Authority.

Instead they have chosen to take industrial action. It is difficult to understand why they do not want to resolve this issue responsibly, both for their members and Auckland commuters. We are aware that the NDU and two other bus companies have recently settled their claims at bargaining for wage increases at a similar percentage  movement to what we have offered our people.

Our improved offer of 4.2% 3.0% and 3.3% is substantial, and one can only speculate that  various factions within the Combined Union coalition are making decisions based on their own agendas rather than in the best interests of their members.”

In mediation on Monday 28th September,  NZ Bus put a reshaped and improved offer on the table which meant drivers would receive a 4.2% wage increase in the first year, a 3.0 % increase in the second year and a 3.3 % increase in the third and final year. This is a 10.5% increase over three years.   The weightings of the reshaped offer and how that increase would be paid has been changed in order to allow drivers to access the larger increase earlier.