Bus driver unions and NZ Bus disagree over when unionised drivers in Auckland should start being paid $30 an hour. Photo / Michael Craig
Bus driver unions and NZ Bus disagree over when unionised drivers in Auckland should start being paid $30 an hour. Photo / Michael Craig
A transport union boss isn’t ruling out more disruption next week, but Auckland bus commuters will enjoy an early week reprieve as the two sides continue to hash out an agreement on pay.
There won’t be any industrial action before the 700 to 800 unionised drivers meet on Wednesday nextweek to vote on employer NZ Bus’ latest offer, New Zealand Tramways and Public Transport Union president Gary Froggatt said this morning.
“There will be [buses running] on Monday and Tuesday, there might be some disruption when drivers meet Wednesday, but that will be in the off-peak period.”
But if the pay dispute isn’t resolved on Wednesday, there could be future industrial action, Froggatt said.
Tramways and First Union, the other union representing bus drivers, late last night called off earlier agreed strike action to continue talks with NZ Bus.
A plan to turn off ticketing systems - making journeys free but also, according to Auckland Transport, causing “chaos and confusion” as the systems also display bus routes - led NZ Bus to suspend drivers without pay.
It's been a disruptive year for Auckland bus users, with cancellations sparked by driver shortages and now, the threat of industrial action as drivers fight for more pay. Photo / Michael Craig
That would have meant from 2am today more than a third of city bus services were out of action, affecting tens of thousands of Aucklanders across about 4000 trips a day - including schoolchildren returning to class next week and fans heading to tomorrow’s All Blacks match against the Springboks at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland Transport said.
The move came after a week of strikes impacted thousands of commuters after unionised drivers walked off the job between 4am and 8am.
Drivers want to be paid the same as their counterparts in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin - $30 an hour - up from $26.76, with pay increasing progressively to the new rate through quarterly pay rises.
Instead, they’d been offered an increase to $28, with a $30 rate to take effect next year - but Froggatt claimed this morning the formula had changed again.
“We’ve just got to resolve how long the term is going to be. We understood last night that it was only a one-year term … then we discovered it was a two-year term, and then the whole thing fell apart.
“[NZ Bus] did offer to get the $30 an hour next year, but they then wanted to extend that right out to the end of 2025.”
NZ Bus couldn’t immediately be contacted for comment.
Representatives from the company and both unions were meeting this morning, an arrangement “facilitated” by Auckland Transport, Froggatt said.
“We’re hoping to have … an offer to put to members on Wednesday, so they can vote on that.
“That’s what the next few days are about.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years.
