Auckland bus impasse to continue into weekend

Three hundred bus drivers and supporters marched through downtown Auckland today, accompanied by Pacific Island drummers. Photo / NZPA

The industrial dispute which has seen most Auckland buses off the road will continue into the weekend after talks failed to resolve the impasse today.

Unions representing 900 bus drivers and the bus company NZ Bus entered a facilitation process ordered by the Employment Relations Authority today, the second day NZ Bus has locked its drivers out.

The company ordered the lockout after the drivers said they would only work strictly to their rule book in support of their wage claim.

Combined unions spokesman Karl Andersen said the parties were not allowed to talk to media about discussions while they were in facilitation.

But he said the talks had not broken down and would continue some time between tomorrow and Monday.

Bus drivers held demonstrations outside a bus depot in Halsey St in the central city area this morning before marching to the Britomart Transport Centre.

The company's lockout has forced 80,000 passengers to find alternative ways to get to and from work. Extra carriages have been added to trains and some other bus companies have added services to cope with the demand.

The row has been going for nine months and although the company welcomed the facilitation order from the ERA, the union said they were not on strike and their work to rule would have caused only minor inconvenience, not the city wide stoppage which forced commuters to find other ways to get to work.

The company said the gates would remain locked until the work to rule notice was lifted, while the union said they were under strict instructions from their members not to lift the notice until the row was settled.

Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee said the lockout was a disproportionate reaction to the unions' notice and in the New Zealand Herald today accused the company of "locking out the travelling public" from the region's largest bus fleet.

Auckland Regional Transport Authority said yesterday it would stop the daily public subsidy of about $160,000 provided to the company, for as long as it failed to provide contracted services.

The drivers earn between $14.05 and $16.75 an hour. The company said it had offered a 10.5 per cent increase spread over three years.

Two other Auckland bus companies, Howick & Eastern and Birkenhead Transport, have settled contract claims with drivers in recent days.

- NZPA