Company, union stand firm on buses

People who rely on the Link bus may be forced to walk. Photo / Greg Bowker

Chances of averting an Auckland transport meltdown tomorrow appear remote, with no indications of middle ground between the region's largest bus operator and its 900-strong workforce.

A lockout of indefinite duration threatened by NZ Bus in response to notice of industrial action from unions representing drivers and cleaners is expected to put 700 buses off the road and disrupt travel plans of up to 80,000 Aucklanders.

The bus company says it is up to the four unions to withdraw their notice before it is prepared to cancel the lockout and a suspension of all services.

It urged the unions yesterday to join it in putting a five-month pay dispute in the hands of the Employment Relations Authority, which has agreed to hold a preliminary hearing tomorrow morning before deciding whether to recommend terms for a settlement.

Unless that happens the company intends suspending all services of its Metrolink, North Star, Go West, Waka Pacific, Link and City Circuit buses from 4.30am tomorrow (click here for a list of affected routes).

But combined unions spokesman Karl Andersen said a work-to-rule campaign by drivers would be "of nuisance value at worst" and far less disruptive to the public than the company's threat to withdraw all its buses.

"They have made the decision to lock out the public, haven't they?" he said last night.

"They are locking the public out from using the buses, the same as they are locking our drivers out."

Company operations manager Zane Fulljames was unable to predict how disruptive industrial action by the unions would be in the absence of a lockout.

But he said it would create uncertainty for the company's customers, which NZ Bus was removing by shutting down all its services.

"If we can't provide our customers with absolute clarity that their services will arrive, then that is disruptive," he said.

"This is a clean and simple approach - our customers know our services will be suspended from 4.30am on Thursday so they can start making alternative arrangements. That's the responsible thing to do."

The Auckland Regional Transport Authority has arranged "skeletal" extra services from other bus operations, and more inter-peak trains, but communications manager Sharon Hunter said commuters should make other arrangements wherever possible.

She urged them to take part in car-pooling instead of jamming roads with extra traffic.

Mr Andersen said the proposed action by drivers was based almost entirely on following the company's rule-book, such as refusing to drive buses with safety defects or without working radio telephones.

The company appeared to be saying "they can't run the bus services unless there are defective buses without warrants of fitness or RTs".

Mr Fulljames strongly denied that, saying the company had an orderly process for repairing defects, and insisted the unions would not have served notice of action unless they intended disrupting services.

"We invite the unions to lift their notice of strike action and agreed to attend facilitation [by the employment authority]," he said.

"We'll lift our notice of lockout and have an independent review [of the dispute]."

The company has offered a pay rise of about 70c on hourly rates of $14.05c to $16.75c, to be followed by 50c next year and 60c in 2011. The unions say take-home pay of $544 is not enough.