Auckland Bus Strike: Fare-free travel continues ahead of talks on Monday
Thursday, 5 December 2019
The larger of two 'strikes' by Auckland bus drivers heads for mediation on Monday but more than 900 drivers continue to allow passengers to travel free.
Two unions and the operator NZ Bus will get together in formal mediation, over the drivers' push to shorten the span of their working day from 14 to 12 hours, in addition to a pay rise.
The fare-free travel is also part of the action by around 100 drivers at Go Bus' depots in Mangere and East Tamaki in the south of the city.
A strike notice issued by the Tramways Union and First Union, provided for the no-fares action to run until Christmas if there is no progress in talks.
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Both disputes are about not only a pay rise, but also the long split-shift working days which the unions said were a consequence of government legislation and rules.
'The 14-hour shifts are due to the Transport Act which allows truck and bus drivers to work up to 13 hours with two half-hour breaks,' said Gary Froggatt, the president of the Tramways Union.
He said once travel time to and from work was added, drivers could be away from home for 16 hours a day which he called 'unsustainable'.
The unions argued the government's bus service contracting regime known as PTOM, locked operators into agreements with Auckland Transport, which the companies used as a reasons to decline better wages and hours.
'Auckland Transport has to come to the party, reducing the (timetable) requirement for drivers to work 14 hour days,' said Froggatt.
The council-agency Auckland Transport had no data on how many buses had their electronic fare card readers turned off, as part of the drivers' action.
In addition to Go Bus' south Auckland routes, NZ Bus runs most central Auckland services, as well as some to the west and north.
The unions earlier this year successfully negotiated with the government and Auckland Transport to allow tea-breaks for drivers, but the wider issue of the length of working days remains unresolved.
Froggatt said the union had also sought a pay rise, and NZ Bus had made an offer but the sums could not be disclosed.
The companies' tolerance of the no-fares action could be linked to the penalties that can be imposed on them by Auckland Transport, if services fail to operate.