Some South Auckland bus drivers are walking off the job today after what its union calls a “month from hell”.
Go Bus drivers from the company’s East Tamaki and Airport bus depots will be taking “full strike action after [a] month from hell” from 4am today for 24 hours, First Union said.
The union said its relations with Go Bus reached “a new low” because the company “cancelled regular wage bargaining, arbitrarily suspended union-affiliated drivers, rejected mediated bargaining and endangered the safety of striking workers”.
The union said Go Bus declined MBIE’s offer to attend mediated bargaining with its drivers. It also said the company cancelled a bargaining meeting with the union, which was scheduled for this Friday.
“Bargaining between First Union members and Go Bus was initiated in May 2019, but the company was unwilling to enter negotiations with drivers until October,” the union said.
Jared Abbott, from First Union, said bus drivers were left with no other option after they were met with “total hostility” by their employer and did not receive a response after writing to Auckland Transport.
"These drivers tried peaceful strike action and were met with arbitrary suspensions that targeted union delegates and anyone else holding out for fair wage bargaining," said Mr Abbott.
"Both Go Bus and Auckland Transport have tried to pit drivers against the public, which is irresponsible and disingenuous - none of them have taken these actions lightly, and they care about their jobs and their passengers.
"We’re asking passengers to be patient and empathetic, bearing in mind that strike action ... is the absolute last resort for bus drivers."
Today’s strikes come in the middle of NCEA exams, with the NCEA Level 1 English exam taking place this morning, and the Level 2 Media Studies, Level 3 Home Economics and Scholarship Statistics this afternoon.
But Auckland Transport said it was working with Go Bus to “ensure all trips are covered”. All school buses are expected to run as planned.
In a statement, Kura Poulava from Go Bus, said the bus company told union members to consider how their strike action would affect students.
“We have sufficient drivers to provide services to get students to their examinations on time, but the conduct of union members at our depots in East Tamaki and the Airport will dictate whether we can do this safely,” she said.
Go Bus said it had made an offer to settle a wage claim last month. It said it had not cancelled its bargaining meeting with the union on Friday.
The company denied that drivers were suspended for taking part in strike action. It said current suspensions relate “only to misconduct and disciplinary action”.
Earlier this month, 60 Go Bus drivers let passengers ride for free to try and raise their pay.
First Union represents more than 120 Go Bus employees in Auckland.
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