All quiet on bus pay front for two years

Passengers of Auckland's main bus fleet can look forward to two years of industrial peace now Stagecoach drivers have finally accepted the company's latest pay offer.

Despite some bitterness that a 14.7 per cent pay rise to $16 an hour comes at a price of reduced overtime wages, more than 600 drivers and service staff at a stopwork meeting at Alexandra Park voted by a definitive majority of 72.75 per cent for the deal.

The overwhelming mood of those leaving the meeting last night was one of relief that their seven-month struggle was over, although some vowed to fight to regain the overtime cut in the next wage round, in 2007.

The acceptance followed two strikes, including a six-day stoppage in which Stagecoach lost about $1 million, in a battle for the $16 wage.

Stagecoach initially sought a three-year deal in which the hourly rate would have been lifted in stages.

The accepted offer is for two years, and comes with an extra rise to $16.20c next year.

It includes a pre-tax payment of $1300 instead of seven months' backpay.

But drivers must work up to 45 hours a week before receiving extra overtime pay, at a reduced rate of time-and-a-quarter.

This compares with the time-and-a-half paid until now for anything more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.

More than 80 per cent of drivers are understood to work between 40 and 45 hours a week, however, and combined unions advocate Gary Froggatt said the company intended introducing a new computer program that would reduce overall overtime by about a half.

Drivers working 40 hours can, under the new deal, expect an immediate weekly pay rise of $82.40 before tax, compared with increases of $57.85 for those working 45 hours and of $44.20 for 60 hours.

Mr Froggatt agreed many drivers had not agreed readily to the overtime clawback, but said the four unions in the negotiations were aware of a risk Stagecoach might lose contracts if its labour costs grew too far above those of its rivals.

Stagecoach has already lost a large proportion of its North Shore routes to Ritchies Transport, which pays its drivers $14.05 with no extra overtime rate, but with a promise of $14.60 next year.

But Mr Froggatt confirmed a possibility unions may try to regain the time-and-a-half rate in 2007, and were likely to ask the company to join them in an approach to the Auckland Regional Transport Authority to subsidise wages.

He said Canterbury Regional Council had agreed to top up wages of Christchurch bus drivers to $15, and the cost of living in Auckland justified higher pay in the north.

He thanked passengers for giving the drivers strong moral support, and Labour Department mediator Keith Handley for bringing the sides back together.

Stagecoach operations director Warren Fowler said the company was pleased the dispute was over, and that the public would be spared disruption for the next two years.