Wellington bus chaos will worsen: Drivers warn of upcoming 'surprise' strike after more than 70 services cancelled in one day
Thursday, 1 April 2021
Bus cancellations are set to get even worse in the capital, with drivers warning of upcoming “surprise attack” strike that will shut down almost all services in the city.
Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said Wellington bus drivers will launch a strike sometime after April 14, with a little as 24 hours notice, as pay negotiations with operator NZ Bus reached an impasse on Wednesday.
Services in the rest of the Wellington region will not be affected.
It comes after 72 bus services were cancelled on Wednesday, an outcome regional transport provider Metlink said “wasn’t good enough”, and more than 30 cancellations on Thursday morning.
Talks between Tramways and NZ Bus over a new collective bargaining agreement have been tense in the past few months.
Wellington bus drivers have among the highest union membership of any industry group and have repeatedly signalled they were willing to strike.
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Drivers in Wellington are fiercely protective of several highly valued benefits in their current collective agreement, including double pay after midnight, time and a half on weekends, and strict controls around hours of work without additional compensation.
NZ Bus wants to move Wellington drivers on to a collective agreement which is similar to its Auckland drivers, which has a higher base rate but lower penal rates and one week less annual leave.
“We’re not going back to negotiation unless this changes. We are not going to accept the offer they put to us,” O’Sullivan said.
Drivers will meet for a stop-work meeting on April 14 where they will vote on industrial action. The vote is all but certain to pass, O’Sullivan said.
NZ Bus has been approached for comment about the pay negotiations.
Meanwhile, regular bus cancellations continue to frustrate commuters in Wellington, with 70 services were affected by last-minute cancellations, mostly during the afternoon and morning peaks.
Another 32 services had been cancelled as of 1pm on Thursday.
Metlink general manager Scott Gallacher voiced his disappointment at the recent performance of bus operator NZ Bus and said “simply wasn’t good enough”.
Metlink spokesman Matthew O’Driscoll said there had been a recent trend over the past few days of last-minute cancellations on NZ Bus-run services.
He said drivers calling in sick seemed to be the source of the problem.
Gallacher said the onus was on operators like NZ Bus to ensure it had drivers available to provide scheduled services on any given day.
He said Metlink would be working with the operator to address the situation.