ACTION Bus drivers go on strike this friday 21st June, will it effect you?
Posted on June 21, 2010 by by scoop
TAMS is reporting that the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has announced a 24-hour stop-work meeting from 12.01am on Friday 25 June 2010. TAMS
Which basically means, you better start planning how you will get to work this friday or take the day off because there will be no ACTION Buses any where.
I am however a little confused because TWU - ACT sub-branch secretary Klaus Pinkas told the Canberra Times ”all bus drivers and transport officers would stop services from 7am on Friday morning for an urgent meeting to discuss their course of action. The strike is only planned to last for the duration of the meeting, unless members vote otherwise”.
So ACTION is saying transport officers would stop services from 12.1am but the Canberra Times is saying 7am, which one in correct? or is it just me who doesn’t get it?
ACTION General Manager James Roncon said “This industrial action by the TWU will leave commuters stranded on Friday, particularly school children and those needing to get to work. The timing of the meeting has been deliberately organised to cause huge disruption to school children and the bus travelling public”.
So what is the problem?
According to the Canberra Times Mr Pinkas said the ACT Government wanted to scrap a condition in the current agreement that capped the percentage of part-time workers at 40 per cent of the total workforce. ”ACTION are still insisting on reducing the amount of full-time workers that drive buses,” he said.
However the ACTION media release tells a different story:
Mr Roncon said it was important to understand that none of the proposed changes in the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement are motivated by an intention to reduce pay, hours or jobs. “In relation to the TWU’s concern over ACTION’s proposal to increase part-time drivers, ACTION has consistently stated there will not be any reduction in current full-time staff. We do, however, need greater flexibility in running and growing the service particularly since it is among the least efficient bus services in Australia. The TWU seem hell-bent on stopping the service from improving.
So will the ACTION BUS strike effect you this Friday? how will you get to work and why are we hearing to different stories about this issue?
Read the ACTION Media release here and the Canberra Times report.
