Waikato bus drivers to strike over low pay and bad conditions

Monday, 13 August 2018

Bus drivers will picket outside the Hamilton Transport Centre from 7:30am to 9:30am and from 2:30pm to 6pm.

School buses and other bus users will be affected by a last-minute strike.

Around 120 bus drivers will walk off the job on Tuesday, according to a statement from FIRST Union.

The union says drivers from Hamilton, Otorohanga, and Te Awamutu are striking due to low pay and bad conditions.

Minimal pay causes a raft of other issues for workers and often signals a company is trying to cut corners, organiser Jax Oldham said in a statement.

* Hamilton bus drivers to strike over living wage on Monday morning**

'While Auckland drivers are forced to be away from home for 14 hours a day due to low pay, Waikato bus drivers often either have to constantly fight for more hours or be partially retired.'

Oldham said the aging bus fleet in the Waikato is a major issue. She said drivers have also been asked to jam brooms in sporadically opening doors, duct-tape steering wheels, and to drive buses they have refused to drive due to electrical and mechanical faults.

'From passengers sitting in the dark and cold due to failed lighting and air-con units stuck on freezing, to drivers having to fit into steering and seat configurations that cause pain over long periods of driving - it's a mess.'

Oldham is also concerned with the effect on non-union members.

'Our members are well aware that they can refuse to drive an unsafe vehicle. It has almost become standard for managers to hold back buses that members refuse to drive, for non-members who will drive whatever bus they are allocated,' Oldham said.

'These drivers are afraid that their refusal to carry out their duties as their manager asks will have an impact on their job security and most just want to avoid workplace conflict.'

In a statement, Go Bus Director of Engineering Terry Campbell said he was disappointed that First Union chose to question the skill, work ethic, dedication and character of the Go Bus engineering team in the Waikato as a justification for its current strike action.

'This group of workers does an exceptional job in providing quality engineering outcomes to enable the public transport system to function reliably and safely in what is a challenging and dynamic environment.

'I could not thank this group of workers more for their efforts and hope that these underhand tactics do not deter them from continuing to provide their best efforts.'

Waikato Regional Council Public Transport Manager Andrew Wilson said council will have staff at key stops on Tuesday morning and the call centre will be able to give people the latest information.

Wilson said the council was working closely with Go Bus to minimise the inconvenience to passengers as much as possible, but urged people to check for updates before they travelled.

All Orbiter services will run as normal, Busit said in an online post.

All regional services (to and from Huntly, Raglan, Cambridge, Te Awamtu, Morrinsville and Paeroa) will operate as normal.

There will be no service on the 29 Hamilton Gardens service all day.

The CBD Shuttle will run with one bus, instead of two, with service every 15 - 20 minutes.

All other Hamilton services will be affected and will be available at http://www.busit.co.nz/…/industrial-action-tuesday-14-augu…/