Auckland Bus Drivers Lockout

aotearoa / pacific islands | workplace struggles | news report Tuesday December 10, 2019 15:03 by AWSM - AWSM

Bus drivers in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand have been locked out by their bosses.

In recent times we’ve seen industrial action by bus drivers in Hamilton (May 2018) and Wellington (October 2018) and today it’s happening in Auckland.

The underlying problem is that there is a contracting system that encourages the lowest bids from companies who then put the screws on the drivers. The drivers are paid $22 per hour by NZ Bus and do dangerous 12-hour shifts, with long unpaid breaks sandwiched between. When they acted to stand up for themselves by rejecting a pathetic 2% increase and looked for support from the traveling public by not taking fares, NZ Bus threw a tantrum and locked them out. The drivers marched up Queen st yesterday and are continuing to seek support while this current dispute continues.

AWSM expresses its solidarity with the drivers and we ask our readers, supporters, and sympathisers to extend your own support to the drivers in whatever way you are able.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All!