Auckland bus drivers vote to continue industrial action, go without pay

Tuesday, 10 December 2019

The ongoing stand-off between NZ Bus and its drivers looks set to continue to affect thousands of Auckland commuters.

Up to 600 Auckland bus drivers will continue to go without pay in the lead up to Christmas after rejecting NZ Bus' standing offer.

Tramways Union president Gary Froggatt said a meeting on Tuesday with the bus company included members of both the Tramways Union and First Union who have been taking industrial action against it.

'We did put a proposal to the members, but they rejected it,' Froggatt said.

'We're currently in negotiations with the management of NZ Bus. We're hoping we can reach some sort of deal, but that's really up to NZ Bus. They want the buses back on the road and we want to get the drivers back to work.'

* Auckland bus strike: 100 drivers suspended with no pay until Christmas Eve

* Auckland bus strike: NZ Bus services cancelled from Saturday

Bus drivers march down central Auckland road calling for better pay and conditions

* Auckland buses to provide free fares during strike action**

NZ Bus CEO Barry Hinkley said: 'There was a long discussion today with ideas and claims bounced between us. We thought we had made an offer that would see drivers return to work however it was not agreed to by the unions.

'We will continue discussions and we hope to find a way to resolve this so that normal service can resume as soon as possible.'

NZ Bus announced late last week that buses on some of Auckland's busiest routes would be cancelled from Saturday as a result of ongoing strike action. Drivers last week stopped collecting fares as part of their industrial action.

The company said drivers who continued to participate in the strike would be suspended. It comes after a new wage deal to try and finalise a new collective agreement with First Union and Tramways members was not accepted, Auckland Transport said in a statement.

First Union spokesman Jared Abbott said its drivers were thankful for the sympathy and solidarity they had received about 'the fact that they are without pay or security as Christmas approaches'.

Froggatt said the members would be willing to collect fares again if they returned to work, but only if they receive a new collective agreement that meets their demands.

NZ Bus had also met with the First Union and the Tramways Union Monday, but nothing came out of the talks.

Hinkley said: 'There is no lock out. The bus drivers can come back to work any time, they just need to collect fares so we can afford to run the services. Our contract with AT stipulates that we are responsible for collecting fares.'

But the First Union's Jared Abbott didn't see anything positive come out of yesterday's meeting.

'We proposed a lot of solutions, but when you are trying to bargain with someone who says there is our offer, take or leave it, it doesn't help. The company's offer is 44 cents more an hour and that's a joke.

'The main issues are around their pay and the broken shifts and the unpaid down time our drivers face between shifts. The issues are tied together. What we're asking for is quite modest. At the moment if you take what they make from the start of the day to the end of the day they often end up being paid below minimum wage.'

But Abbott said First Union remains open to talks with the company. 'Our doors are open if they want to continue the discussions.'