Buses stop for 24 hours
Peninsula bus services will stop for 24 hours today, September 5, due to a dispute over an enterprise agreement.
Transport Workers' Union state secretary Mr Richard Olsen said members who drove for Busways had been left with no option but to take a 24 hour stoppage.
He said the dispute escalated after Busways continued to refuse to negotiate a fair and reasonable enterprise agreement to replace the one which expired in June 2015.
"Instead, Busways have offered an agreement which includes no guarantee of permanent work, provides for no company pay rise until 2018, forces drivers to answer anonymous complaints and removes the right for union driver representation."
He said that 80 percent of drivers last week rejected the proposed agreement.
"This is an absolute last resort," Mr Olsen said.
"The last thing that drivers want to do is inconvenience passengers during peak periods and affect school services and we apologise in advance.
"However, they feel as though the company has left them with no choice.
"It's time for Minister Constance to intervene in this dispute in order to get Busways to make a genuine effort to negotiate with our members.
"The NSW Government is Busways' principal contractor and has the power to intervene.
"Drivers are not asking for the world.
"They simply want to maintain their current conditions with a fair and reasonable pay rise.
"Should our members be forced to stop for 24 hours on Monday, it will be as a result of the Minister's refusal to intervene and our members will let their passengers know where to lay the blame.
"We say to the Minister that you have the power to fix this and it's time for you to step in," Mr Olsen said.
Drivers have elected to enforce a fare-free week from Friday, September 2, to Friday, September 9, to thank passengers for their patience and understanding.
This means that passengers will not be charged for using Busways services during this week.
"Our members will be docked pay for this but want to show their gratitude to passengers for standing with them during this fight," Mr Olsen said.
Media release, 31 Aug 2016
Richard Olsen, Transport Workers' Union of NSW