Bus drivers plan more strikes in face of 'unfavourable offer'

  • 31/05/2016
(File)
(File)

Commuters on Howick and Eastern bus lines may run into disruptions, as First Union members prepare to strike once again.

The two parties reached a "tentative agreement" that drivers were to vote on, but the union says just before the vote took place, the east Auckland bus company wrote to them with a "far less favourable offer".

"It's very difficult to negotiate with a company that's undermining the bargaining process and refusing to act with integrity.  "The workers can no longer take the company at its word," says Bus Drivers' First spokesperson Rudd Hughes.

The strike follows a lengthy dispute between the bus company and union members, with the union seeking $2 million in penalties, and two cases before the Employment Relations Authority.

More than 100 Howick and Eastern bus drivers refused passengers' cash for fares for a day in March, in response to what First Union says was the company making repeated attempts to remove weekend and overtime rates for drivers.

Howick and Eastern bus services weren't available for immediate comment.

The union hasn’t detailed when the strike will happen.

Newshub.