Stagecoach goes for binding pay ruling

Auckland bus operator Stagecoach is seeking a binding ruling from the Employment Relations Authority on how much its drivers should be paid.

The employer yesterday became the first to lodge an application for a binding pay determination with the authority, under an employment-law amendment passed late last year.

The move came as 1000 Stagecoach drivers began a six-day strike.

Although Auckland motorways were relatively free-flowing in the early hours of the strike, cars faced slow crawls along feeder roads and onramps, and trains were packed with passengers.

Many commuters left home more than an hour earlier than usual, whether by car, bicycle or on foot, only to miss their starting times.

Fine weather reduced the risk of road crashes and put many commuters in a good mood to try novel ways of getting to work or classes.

Although the weather is expected to hold today, finding parking spaces in the city is likely to be a big headache with the resumption of university capping ceremonies.

Smaller bus companies provided skeleton strike-relief services in parts of Stagecoach's territory yesterday, and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority has arranged additions to these today.

These will include an extension in hours up to 9.45pm tonight only for a Ritchies Transport shuttle from Mt Roskill to the Civic Centre, to cater for those heading to the Blues v Hurricanes game at Eden Park. Rail company Connex is also running trains to and from Kingsland, but passengers are urged to travel early to Eden Park to avoid delays.

Stagecoach is not considering seeking a court injunction to stop the strike, and it is not known how long the ERA will take to hear the firm's application for what amounts to a return to compulsory arbitration.

The authority has already made a non-binding recommendation that drivers accept a 7.6 per cent pay rise to $15 an hour and a $600 cash sum.

Stagecoach faces a high legal hurdle to persuade the authority to make a binding ruling, as it cannot intervene unless the company can prove that bus unions have committed a serious breach of good faith.

Combined unions advocate Gary Froggatt said the company's bid for arbitration would only strengthen the drivers' resolve, and claimed there was more evidence of breaches of good faith from Stagecoach's corner than from his side.