Bus company Tranzurban has asked MBIE for mediation to help reach an agreement with Wellington Tramways Union over working conditions for bus drivers.
Wellington Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said the union has agreed to mediation, but plans for Wellington-based Tranzurban union members to strike tomorrow will continue.
No date for mediation has been set, according to a Tranzurban spokesman.
“This is further proof that we want to move this forward.
“It’s the union that has been dragging their feet… all this is doing is unnecessarily and unfairly punishing commuters with the planned strike action,” the spokesman said.
Spokespeople for Tranzurban and Metlink said it’s not known how much disruption the planned strike will cause in Wellington City, Hutt Valley and Porirua, but said there will be some.
Tranzurban’s spokesman said some buses won’t be running to time and there may be slower frequency of buses on routes, but any disruption will be managed by the company.
He said the company doesn’t know how many workers will strike tomorrow, but said it knows 29 union members voted for industrial action at the end of September.
Wellington Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said he expects most if not all of the 140 Wellington-based Tranzurban drivers will strike.
The union has signalled strike action will continue until the end of November, if an agreement isn’t made before then.
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