"History will be kind to us, because we will write it"
Territory And Municipal Services is warning that the ongoing instransigence of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in refusing to work overtime doing the onerous and very technical task of putting diesel into buses means there will be “significant disruptions” over the five day weekend.
“A Sunday timetable will run on Saturday 23 April and Monday 25 April and the free chartered bus services will still be run to the Anzac Day dawn services from each major bus station.
“However services will not run on Friday 22 April, Sunday 24 April and Tuesday 26 April. Chartered bus services to the Raiders match on Sunday 24 April will also now be provided by Deane’s.
While the AMWU is doing itself no favours in the court of public opinion with its savage attacks on the young and the elderly one does have to ask why core business requires overtime and is the genius who set that up still in Government pay?
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Banjoed? That’s a new term to me. Personally, as someone who needs the bus to get around (and am neither young nor elderly) I feel like I have been bushwacked.
Holditz think you have been buswhacked
ACTION buses are the best advertisement for car sales we’ve ever had. I can almost hear the keyboards typing the address for http://www.allclassifieds.com.au right now.
Why don’t they just get in some scabs to refuel the buses?
georgesgenitals said :
After some weekend work are you?
georgesgenitals said :
…or get the drivers to go through a servo and do it themselves…
Brilliant. We have thousands of people who’ve travelled here from around the country for the National Folk Festival right through Easter, and any of them relying on public transport to get to any from the venue are royally stuffed, with no alternative measures put in place. But hey we’re looking after the footy…
This ACTION situation is totally FUBAR and I fully understand Stanhope’s increasing frustration with the behaviour of the relative unions.
I’ll happily refuel buses over the long weekend, they won’t even have to pay me overtime rates.
Why yes, I am a student. What makes you ask?
colourful sydney racing identity said :
I’m fine, but know plenty of people who would happily turn up for a few hours to make some extra cash.
There’s more info about the Easter bus services on the Action website:
https://www.action.act.gov.au/
For example, there are some limited bus services from the National Folk Festival on the evenings of Friday, Sunday and Monday (which appear, according to the NFF website, to be an already-in-place service arranged by the Festival):
Return bus services from National Folk Festival
Deane’s Buses will operate return services from the National Folk Festival on 22, 24 and 25 April departing from Epic at 8:00pm; 9:00pm; and 10:00pm stopping at City Bus Station, City West, College St Belconnen, and Belconnen Community Bus Station.
I now have to catch cabs on Friday and Tuesday to get out of Canberra for the weekend.
Ain’t that great.
I’ve delt with the last two weekends without complains, but this is beyond screwed, especially with people going every which way for the easter long weekend, running no-timetables or even the sunday ones screws people going out in the evenings ontop of all the other obvious issues.
Frankly, I no longer care for either side of this debate – get it fixed.
ATWU, and any ACTION employees involved, you have lost my support because you are making me pay upwards of $40.00 to get to places in taxis. I can’t afford that on my wage. If you don’t like the conditions, just quit and let someone who can take over. Or alternatively, work to find a better solution that does not mean the general public has to suffer.
ACTION, you continue to be a disappointment because you obviously cannot manage to keep your staff happy and offer them reasonable benefits.
Beyond fed up with all of this and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
johnboy, the intrangisent amwu members voted to resume weekend and public holiday re-fuelling of buses,so as to not inconvenience anyone wishing to attend the Anzac Day dawn service and associated activities.
James Roncon and his management have “reasoned” that as a handful of mechanics wont work overtime on Easter Sunday that services won`t run on Good Friday and tuesday April26.Hows about reporting the facts before crucifying all and sundry?
And to all you wee scabby dogs,georgesgenitals and krasny et al ,get f***ed and happy Easter
If these scabs are found to refuel the buses, how do we know the TWU drivers refuse to drive on the weekend?
Also how I see this saga is ACTION put the ideas forward & the Unions accept what they say. However these proposals have to be approved by the ACT Cabinet. Now the ACT Cabinet will give themselves 6% or so pay rises without any problems, but if their humble workers receive a pay rise there won’t be any money left for their pay rise.
mr sludge said :
Wow, those guys are real saints.
Ditch the lot of ‘em and get scabs in – cheaper and less hassle.
Oh yeah, happy Easter to you too.
Fewer deadly buses to terrorise the happy cyclists this weekend.
It’s like the future, now!
krasny said :
And you would then engage a good solicitor (oxymoron) and recover overtime rates, as well as compensation.
Brandi said :
NO!! The future is buses,not cyclists
TP 3000 said :
Not really how it works.
If you bus drivers don’t want to work weekends or public holidays, go get another job. I doubt you’ll find one though, especially where you are way overpaid for what you do.
KaptnKaos said :
It is not about whether they want to work on the weekend or on public holidays, they are taking legal protected industrial action in the course of bargaining.
As for the ‘if you don’t like it get another job’ crap, do you really think that workers should have to accept their employment terms and conditions in perpetuity and never seek to improve them?
colourful sydney racing identity said :
That’s all fine and everything, but they should not expect the general public to empathise with them when the action they’re taking is causing considerable difficulties for people who rely on the bus services. They cannot realistically expect a sympathetic general public when the perception is that it’s okay to let the average bus traveller suffer for the sins of ACTION management.
From what I’ve seen to date, the AMWU has made no attempt to connect with the public that this industrial action affects and actually listen to how the industrial action is impacting them. If they wish to garner sympathy for their cause and ultimately turn the public’s wrath on ACTION, they need to communicate and listen to them, which they have yet to do.
KaptnKaos said :
My apologies, I left out the workshop staff who started all this crap because they want weekends off too, laughable quote from their union rep: “most private business workshop staff don’t work all weekend or on public holidays so why should action staff”.
Good to see CSRI is not affected by bus services, hope YOU have a great weekend. What if this was medical professionals who were looking after you or your family and all you got from them was “I don’t do weekend, sorry have to ewait until during the week for you life saving surgery”.
Brandi said :
And fewer buses careening down my street at full pelt, terrorising not only happy cyclists but pedestrians and innocent bystanders as well.
KaptnKaos said :
So how, pray tell, did you leap to the erroneous assumption that I do not rely on busses?
colourful sydney racing identity said :
Because there is no such thing? Unless you actually meant buses… :-p
…Wonders to self if the time is fast approach that the Government understandably walks away from ACTION and puts the whole thing out to tender…
Mr Sludge: way to reinforce that thought mate.
KaptnKaos said :
KaptnReadingComprehension it’s the mechanics who have put on an overtime ban.
I know you lot love to cut and paste your pre-written “bus drivers are lazy overpaid whingers who rape grandmas and eat babies” comments but try and think just a little before you type.
Bussie said :
TP 3000 said :
Not quite sure what you mean by this.
As has been mentioned, the fuellers agreed to work over the weekend, but ACTION Management chose to cancel services anyway because of no mechanics. It is only the AMWU which is imposing overtime bans, not TWU.