Bus Drivers rally against private tendering
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- Published on Thursday, 21 June 2012 09:39
Hundreds of bus delegates and supporters will be joined in song by the Trade Union Choir at a rally at NSW Parliament today to protest against the Government’s proposed private tendering for NSW bus contracts. A petition is expected to be handed over to NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson and Shadow Transport Minister Penny Sharpe.
The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), which represents bus drivers in the private sector, has issued a dire warning that a tender process is likely to lead to a race to the bottom in regard to the pay and conditions received by bus drivers in New South Wales unless there are guarantees in the tender that drivers’ wages and conditions will be protected.
“It is not the concept of tendering we oppose but the manner in which it is happening. The TWU has a strong record of supporting and creating efficiencies in the industry, but what we will never support is providing cheaper services simply by cutting drivers’ wages and making them redundant,” TWU NSW State Secretary Wayne Forno said.
“A bus driver in the private sector earns around $48,000 a year over a 38-hour week. If the tendering by this Government goes ahead, without any provisions to protect the pay and conditions of drivers, this rate could drop by as much as 30 per cent,” Mr Forno said.
“And yet these are the very people who we entrust with the responsibility of taking our children to and from school and our loved ones to and from work. The O’Farrell Government needs to be reminded that without the invaluable service these drivers provide, the entire community would quite simply come to a grinding halt.”
The Union Secretary said many bus drivers were already feeling insecure about the uncertainty hanging over their future. “They are keenly aware that a tender process could lead not only to drastic pay cuts but also to the very real possibility of job losses – with all the disastrous consequences these will create for them, their financial commitments and – their families,” he said.
Mr Forno explained that there were already a number of flexibilities built into current workplace arrangements that have transformed private sector bus drivers into an extremely efficient and productive workforce. “So why would the NSW Government risk ruining these efficiencies which have developed over a number of years in the private bus industry? “This is a concern that we have had expressed to us, in the strongest terms, by employers in the industry. A fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work for bus drivers should be a central component for providing quality bus transport services to the people of New South Wales.”
Anyone willing to show their support should join us at Martin Place at 11:45am.
The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), which represents bus drivers in the private sector, has issued a dire warning that a tender process is likely to lead to a race to the bottom in regard to the pay and conditions received by bus drivers in New South Wales unless there are guarantees in the tender that drivers’ wages and conditions will be protected.
“It is not the concept of tendering we oppose but the manner in which it is happening. The TWU has a strong record of supporting and creating efficiencies in the industry, but what we will never support is providing cheaper services simply by cutting drivers’ wages and making them redundant,” TWU NSW State Secretary Wayne Forno said.
“A bus driver in the private sector earns around $48,000 a year over a 38-hour week. If the tendering by this Government goes ahead, without any provisions to protect the pay and conditions of drivers, this rate could drop by as much as 30 per cent,” Mr Forno said.
“And yet these are the very people who we entrust with the responsibility of taking our children to and from school and our loved ones to and from work. The O’Farrell Government needs to be reminded that without the invaluable service these drivers provide, the entire community would quite simply come to a grinding halt.”
The Union Secretary said many bus drivers were already feeling insecure about the uncertainty hanging over their future. “They are keenly aware that a tender process could lead not only to drastic pay cuts but also to the very real possibility of job losses – with all the disastrous consequences these will create for them, their financial commitments and – their families,” he said.
Mr Forno explained that there were already a number of flexibilities built into current workplace arrangements that have transformed private sector bus drivers into an extremely efficient and productive workforce. “So why would the NSW Government risk ruining these efficiencies which have developed over a number of years in the private bus industry? “This is a concern that we have had expressed to us, in the strongest terms, by employers in the industry. A fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work for bus drivers should be a central component for providing quality bus transport services to the people of New South Wales.”
Anyone willing to show their support should join us at Martin Place at 11:45am.
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