Yay some good news at last in the long running pay dispute between NZ Bus and their drivers. The two parties have finally come to an arrangement which means no more threats of strikes or industrial action.

NZ Bus making progress in culture change
NZ Bus has been in negotiations with representatives of the Auckland Tramways Union and First Union for the past 6 months to agree a new Collective Agreement (CA) for their members.

“NZ Bus continues to make great progress as it moves forward with its investment programme in Health and Safety, Training, new and upgraded facilities and new fleet” says Shane McMahon COO NZ Bus

NZ Bus is pleased to announce that at ratification meetings held last week, Tramways and First Union members voted to accept the new Collective Agreement.

“ A significant effort has been underway in this business over the last few years to reshape the Values and deliver on our commitment to “RELIABILITY” to our customers, staff, partners and shareholders and this will continue at speed with a new collective agreement in place in Auckland” Mr. McMahon concluded.

NZ bus is delighted that the offer to staff has been supported and would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding.

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6 comments

  1. That media release is a pretty roundabout and unclear way of saying what you’ve interpreted it as meaning Matt. Are you sure that’s what it means?

  2. The offer is the exact same deal that was turned down last time, with the exception that the requirement to give 2 hours notice when you’re sick has been amended to giving 2 hours notice when practical when you’re sick – if you’re signing on at 0430 it’s a bit hard to ring in sick by 0230 but that would have been the requirement.

    The reason it has gone through this time is that we’re starting to see action not just talk on fixing the problems with rosters and duties and a few other things, so the (numerous) drivers who were so wound up by what had been imposed that they were voting no simply because there was no way on earth they would have voted for anything proposed by the company have calmed down a bit. That and the unions making it absolutely clear that the only two options now were to accept the deal or go to war, which would never have worked with less than 50% support.

  3. The big issue was “consultation” or actually “the lack of it”. Not so much the pay-rates. Unfortunately, the company is not very good in spreading the truth out there in the media. They are kind off “selective”. Towards the reshaping “Values” the Company says to have achieved, the drivers have a clear “Yeah Right” attitude. Prior to the negotiations and right in the middle of it, drivers duties were changed without consultation with a remarkable change of pattern to the drivers family-lives as result. They got pissed off……. and they had a right to do so. The issue of non-consultation has been resolved by a commitment from the company to establish Consultative Working Groups with Company, Employees and Union represented, to discuss issues and inevitable changes within the business. This was very important to the drivers and we applaud the Unions team for winning this consultation issue back for us. Now, the next step is getting back to employing people in the schedule office and general management who have a background of Public Transport instead of employing cheap university graduates…. that will improve the companies “RELIABILITY” effort. A failing and “unreliable” LINK-schedule was the result of dumping people with years of experience in the business and replacing them with cheap labour…….

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