Intervention, but buses stay off roads

Bus drivers from Northstar's fleet in Glenfield found the gates locked when they turned up for work yesterday. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Auckland commuters face more misery today and possibly into next week as 700 buses stay locked behind security gates - and their drivers remain locked out.

NZ Bus welcomed an Employment Relations Authority decision yesterday afternoon to accept its application for the authority to intervene in a five-month pay dispute with its 875 drivers and cleaners.

But although the authority has jurisdiction to recommend terms for settling the dispute, its advice will not be legally binding on the parties, who remained at loggerheads last night.

That means a bus fleet which carries up to 80,000 passengers a day will remain out of action as the locked-out unionists follow the lead of other Aucklanders by car-pooling to reach a rally outside company offices in Halsey St this morning.

As the authority chaired a meeting to set up ground rules for a "facilitation" exercise to start today, the company continued to insist the unions would have to withdraw their work-to-rule strike notice before it would lift a lockout imposed at 4.30am yesterday.

"This means their members can return to work and Auckland commuters can go about their daily travel with certainly," said company operations manager Zane Fulljames.

"Our services will remain suspended until such time as the notice of industrial action is withdrawn."

The unions say their members are ready to keep reporting to work - as they did yesterday - while sticking to the letter of the company's rule book, apart from breaching a ban on talking to reporters, until they receive a satisfactory pay offer.

Although the company says it took a responsible action in suspending all services, rather than creating uncertainty for passengers over whether their buses would run, employment authority member Dzintra King made it clear the lockout was the trigger for her organisation's intervention.

She said the unions' work-to-rule strike notice would not have caused enough disruption for the authority to be justified in becoming involved on public interest grounds.

But the company's notice of a lockout of indefinite duration "clearly has the potential to have significant and detrimental effects".

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

He was pleased with an indication by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority that it would dock the average of $160,000 a day in public subsidies received by the bus company, for as long is it failed to provide contracted services.

"A whole lot of public money has gone into rebuilding our public transport system in Auckland," Mr Lee said. "A key element of a successful public transport system is reliability and predictability, and this type of industrial action from the owners is extremely disruptive. The unions have obviously been provocative, but ... they are working to formal rules."

Combined unions spokesman Karl Andersen told about 100 drivers outside the Mt Roskill bus depot that the company also relied on taxpayers to subsidise its "poor wages" through income support to many drivers.

Mr Fulljames defended a pay offer of 10.5 per cent by the final stage of a three-year deal as "competitive and substantial in this economy".

The first stage of the offer amounts to a 70c rise on hourly wages ranging from $14.05c to $16.75c.

But it does not include an increase sought by the unions on time and a quarter overtime rates.

Transport officials were thankful that the school holidays reduced peak-hour traffic congestion yesterday, but say the lockout will have a more serious effect if it continues until classes resume on Monday.

WHAT WILL RUN

* Only NZ Bus services will be affected by strike action. These include Metrolink, North Star, Go West, Waka Pacific, Link and City Circuit services.

* Northern Express, Birkenhead, Bayes, Howick and Eastern, Murphys, Urban Express, Waiheke Island buses, Tranzit and AirBus Express services will run as usual.Limited replacement services will operate. Details are:

* Hibiscus Coast (Bayes Coachlines): Express services from Orewa at 6.40am and 7.20am to Auckland. Services from Pacific Plaza at 6.50am and 7.30am to Auckland. All trips via busway from Constellation.

* New Lynn via Great North Rd (Ritchies Transport): Every 15 minutes between 7am and 8.30am from New Lynn to Britomart. Every 15 minutes between 4pm and 6pm Britomart to New Lynn.

* Dominion Rd (Ritchies Transport): Every 10 minutes between 6.30am and 8.30am and then every 30 minutes between 8.30am and 5.30pm between Mt Roskill shops and Civic Centre. Every 30 minutes between 8am and 4pm, every 10 minutes between 4pm and 6.30pm and every 15 minutes till 7.30pm between the Civic Centre and Mt Roskill shops.

* Mt Eden Rd (Airbus): Airbus will pick up from Three Kings and at all stops along Mt Eden Rd to the CBD and return. Normal cash stage fares.

* Manukau Rd (Johnstons): Every 15 minutes between 7am and 8.30am and then every 30 minutes until 6pm between Onehunga and Wellesley St. Normal cash stage fares apply. Every 30 minutes between 8am and 4pm and then every 15 minutes until 7pm between Wellesley St and Onehunga. Normal cash stage fares apply. Train and ferry services will operate as normal.

* Bus services from South and West Auckland will be severely limited. Commuters are advised to use trains or car-pooling.

Timetables and operators can be found on www.maxx.co.nz or by phoning (09) 366-6400 or 0800 10 30 80