Bus Campaign: The Long and Winding Road
The end of January for bus drivers usually means the end of the Summer holidays, and the start of endless school bus runs, school sports days and thousands of school kids. This January will be remembered for the time that Westbus, the largest of the Private Bus Companies, located in Western Sydney announced that it and it's Regional Cousin Blue Ribbon Coaches, announced voluntary administration.
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| Busabout members Michael Torrice, Wayne Hutchings, Chrystine McGowan, Chris Hawkins and Greg Knowles support the push for safety reform and training |
With the parent company of Westbus and Blue Ribbon calling in internal debts, the Australian arm of the two companies have put everything up "For Sale". This announcement left all TWU bus drivers worried about their future. The previous Transport Minister, announced that there would be major reform of the private bus industry, and individual contracts for geographic areas would be issued to companies.
"At the time that Westbus announced it would leave Australia, only one of the 15 Private Bus Companies had signed onto the NSW State Government Contracts. Now, 6 months later, all 15 contracts still haven't been signed," Wayne Forno NSW Assistant State Secretary said.
"Westbus had an initial creditors meeting, where over 650 proxy vote forms were received by the TWU from drivers, all asking for the TWU to represent them" Wayne Forno said. The TWU now has a position on the Creditors Committee, and all drivers will know first hand what happens.
"The drivers demands are reasonable: they want to know what is happening with their jobs and what will happen to their passengers" Mr Forno said.
"TWU members are seeking a 100% guarantee that passengers will not be stranded by new owners changing the routes and that the driver's hard earned entitlements will be paid." Wayne Forno said.
"There is still so much uncertainty for private bus drivers. TWU members are not in a position to accept anything less than 100% of their Entitlements. 100% of their Jobs and that 100% of Passenger Services will be maintained."
With Westbus and Blue Ribbon going through the administration process, other bus companies were considering their contracts and their futures. TWU bus drivers had long maintained that the safety of a bus driver was in jeopardy when 2-way radio's were faulty, or when drivers were abused by angry passengers. In light of the new contracts, the NSW Ministry of Transport decided to include Safety Training in all new contracts. Bus drivers were relieved that finally, the safety of the drivers was being considered by the decision makers! In a bizarre twist, Forrest Coaches, on Sydney North Shore, decided that they would go on strike, shut their gates, and refuse to allow drivers to drive the buses if they had to agree to the safety training. The argument was increasingly frustrating, as the NSW Government agreed to pay for the drivers to be trained, and the bus operators would not lose anything. Yet, they announced late on a Friday that they would close their gates on Monday. This meant that there would be no school or commuter bus services in that area. As other private bus companies said they would consider shutting their gates as well, bus drivers were left in the middle. The TWU then got a Direction from the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, that said that drivers had to be paid if they operators shut the gates.
"All TWU drivers committed themselves to arriving for work and driving the buses. The weekend saw over 2000 TWU drivers being contacted by TWU delegates and activists through your TWU Call Centre to explain what had happened and going through the Directions from the Commission," Wayne said.
"After an unbelievable weekend, that had the NSW Transport Minister John Watkins and the Director General of Transport John Lee in a series of marathon meetings with the BCA (Bus and Coach Association) to work out a way to keep the buses running" Wayne said.
"Finally, at 9pm on Sunday night, we were told that the buses would run and that the drivers would be trained in Safety Standards. TWU bus drivers expected no less" Wayne explained. "In all my time as a Unionist, I have never before seen a situation where the bosses went on strike, and the Union Members took them to the Commission!"
Bus Drivers Celebrate Win
Wage Increase:
2005: $645.42
2006: $671.24
2007: $698.09
There is more to be done in the NSW Bus Campaign. All drivers need to be TWU members to remain in the fight to stay on top. To Join Up A Bus Driver Mate Call Dave or Bruce in the Call Centre and tell them your friends name and number.
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PROTECTING AUSSIE JOBS 
