No Bus Friday

Bussie said :

Hey Hutch, why don’t you go back to sucking the bosses’ arseholes.

If we’re so overpaid how come ACTION has such a hard time hanging on to drivers?

Probably because new drivers don’t like having to wait 2-4 years to get a fulltime position. There’s usually overtime available but we don’t accrue leave or super on it so ACTION has a lot of fulltime equivalent drivers on the cheap.

Management wanted to play hardball this time so they’ve left us no option but to strike. They’ve previously allowed at least one stop work meeting at EBA time with buses off the road from 1000-1400. They didn’t this time so we had to strike just to be able to get together.

Sorry to all the people who are left stranded but it’s management’s fault. Take the opportunity to call in sick.

Umm are you asking for more money or more full time positions?

If you get paid more than a check out chick then your getting paid to much money.

This was done to death a couple of weeks ago.

Cranky unionists reckon their hard done by, evil management earning a gazillion dollars a year out to screw drivers, arguments about pay, etc.

Oh, and whenever someone criticises the union we get personal attacks and emotional outbursts.

Hope the drivers get what they can, but spare us the union bullshit.

thehutch said :

Payrates:
First Year bus driver @ ACTION – $29.90 or $59,272 per year
First Year bus driver @ State Transit (NSW) – $20.72 or $40,404 pyr (based on a 7.5hr day)

Compare that to a first yr Nurse, Police Officer etc? I know who I would prefer get paid more!

Congrats to your union for negotiating a great deal for you… but really?

Comparing the payrates of bus drivers in 2 states is like comparing chalk and cheese, but Stanhope wouldn’t want to admit that. If you compared the payrates in a lot of industries in Canberra, you will find that the salary rates are much higher than most states most simply because of the labour market is a lot tighter and there is a higher amount of competition. If you want to keep your staff in this town, you have to pay a rate and have conditions that are competitive with or above that of other companies. Without that, you don’t have people wanting to join your company, or drive your buses.

Who is wrong or right I don’t know, I would think both sides need to give in this case, but I don’t really care because I don’t catch the bus.

Drivers had originally planned to take industrial action in the form of a fare-strike, which was seen as an effective way of challenging management without inconveniencing the public.
Unfortunately ACTION, with the assistance of Fair Work Australia (Rudd’s version of the draconic Workchoices), threatened drivers with severe fines for choosing to participate in such an action.
Many other workplaces, including the ACT public service, have widely rejected less-than-inflation ‘pay-rises’ (effective pay-cuts), not to mention the proposed change of composition to majority part-time.
It is important to remember that the demands put forth by drivers and the TWU are modest, asking only for the current EBA to continue. Drivers are under attack, and Roncon is trying to pit the public against them. It’s a lie that only a minority of the workforce support the action, and it is ACTION management’s hard-line approach which has provoked the strike.
Industrial campaigns are not won in isolation, but require broad support from the community. To that end, Workers Solidarity Canberra invites everyone to join in a public demonstration in support of our drivers, at 12pm on the day of the strike (Friday 25) outside the Legislative Assembly.
Comparing wages to other industries misses the point and plays into the hands of the bosses. We must organize as a class of workers. An injury to one is an injury to all!

Bussie said :

Hey Hutch, why don’t you go back to sucking the bosses’ arseholes.

If we’re so overpaid how come ACTION has such a hard time hanging on to drivers?

Probably because new drivers don’t like having to wait 2-4 years to get a fulltime position. There’s usually overtime available but we don’t accrue leave or super on it so ACTION has a lot of fulltime equivalent drivers on the cheap.

Management wanted to play hardball this time so they’ve left us no option but to strike. They’ve previously allowed at least one stop work meeting at EBA time with buses off the road from 1000-1400. They didn’t this time so we had to strike just to be able to get together.

Sorry to all the people who are left stranded but it’s management’s fault. Take the opportunity to call in sick.

Payrates:
First Year bus driver @ ACTION – $29.90 or $59,272 per year
First Year bus driver @ State Transit (NSW) – $20.72 or $40,404 pyr (based on a 7.5hr day)

Compare that to a first yr Nurse, Police Officer etc? I know who I would prefer get paid more!

Congrats to your union for negotiating a great deal for you… but really?

Without having any research, there are probably a number of reasons why people do or do not become and stay bus drivers – possibly the nature of the work? Lack of career opportunities? Money? Or considering the nature of your first sentence… maybe even having to work with a delighful person such as yourself might turn people away from a career of bus driving.

For the record – i don’t work for ACTION and have no personal gain from the success or failure of Action EBA’s… I just know there’s a better way.

Fantastic, for once there will be no busses cluttering up the roads!!

Bussie said :

new drivers don’t like having to wait 2-4 years to get a fulltime position. There’s usually overtime available but we don’t accrue leave or super on it so ACTION has a lot of fulltime equivalent drivers on the cheap.

That’s why I support this action. Even though it will be inconvenient for me and I’ll have to drive kids to school all over the ACT and then get myself to work, I feel the drivers are being ripped off.

Organisations who employ casuals for years on full time hours, but with none of the job security, SUCK. Job security is important.

la mente torbida said :

@thehutch

out of curiosity, how often do you catch a bus?

I catch buses to and from work (belco to city) 2-3 times a week on average… depends on what I am doing after work. If I have something on after work which makes public transport to hard, then I drive… im lucky I have that option.

74Daizies – yes I realise that ACTION runs at a loss…several weeks ago, a report was released confirming that the Government could save $30million a year by reducing inefficiencies… so its pretty simple – take what it costs to run ACTION today, take $20 million off that figure and provide that to a private company to run the system under certain conditions. Use the extra $5million to increase peak services and the other $5 million as a potential performance bonus for the company if they meet certain criteria.

It’s not rocket science – private run transport systems operate in various cities around the world. In either case, it can’t be any worse and if it stays the same, well at least it’s cheaper.

Hey Hutch, why don’t you go back to sucking the bosses’ arseholes.

If we’re so overpaid how come ACTION has such a hard time hanging on to drivers?

Probably because new drivers don’t like having to wait 2-4 years to get a fulltime position. There’s usually overtime available but we don’t accrue leave or super on it so ACTION has a lot of fulltime equivalent drivers on the cheap.

Management wanted to play hardball this time so they’ve left us no option but to strike. They’ve previously allowed at least one stop work meeting at EBA time with buses off the road from 1000-1400. They didn’t this time so we had to strike just to be able to get together.

Sorry to all the people who are left stranded but it’s management’s fault. Take the opportunity to call in sick.

@georgesgenitals

in the big scheme of things, it ain’t that important

@Jim Jones

I don’t know you well enough

Inappropriate said :

I wonder how many people will go, “Oh f- this, I’m not going to work” on Friday because of this action?

None?

I wonder how many people will go, “Oh f- this, I’m not going to work” on Friday because of this action?

la mente torbida said :

@georgesgenitals

please ignore aggression in previous post…I had a cranky moment

It’s all ok! I can see this is a subject that is important to you, and to be fair I was in a bit of a trolly mood, and was having a bit of a giggle to relieve what’s been a fairly difficult day.

It’s worth it to get a good response out of Woody, anyway… 🙂

la mente torbida said :

@georgesgenitals

please ignore aggression in previous post…I had a cranky moment

Do you need a hug?

@georgesgenitals

please ignore aggression in previous post…I had a cranky moment

@georges (I’m ignoring your genitals)

#871 seems a moot point IF YOU DON’T CATCH BUSES

Point #1 – catch a taxi, buses run to a schedule and it don’t revolve around your little universe (believe it or not)

Point #2 – unreliable? In 5 years of me catching buses daily – 2 non arrivals because of breakdown (if you don’t catch them, how do you know they are unreliable?)

Point #3 – expensive? check out Deans Buslines website for expensive

Point #4 – they smell – poor precious!

Go troll elsewhere

Reason #871 why I don’t catch buses.

Reason # 872 – prone to exaggeration; holding arms THIS FAR apart may upset other passengers.

la mente torbida said :

@georgesgenitals

Reason #871: You don’t catch buses because:

a) drivers are paid too much?
b) drivers go on strike?
c) not enough part-time drivers?

Please enlighten me.

The first few reasons go something like this:
#1 They don’t go when it suits me
#2 They are unreliable
#3 They’re expensive for what they are
#4 They smell, as do some of the regular users

This list continues until #871, which is:
#871 The drivers go on strike sometimes, which means the buses are unavailable anyway.

@georgesgenitals

Reason #871: You don’t catch buses because:

a) drivers are paid too much?
b) drivers go on strike?
c) not enough part-time drivers?

Please enlighten me.

Are you aware that ACTION runs at a loss? If it’s privatised we can expect services halved, less drivers and more expensive fares.. at the minumum. The gov’t is doing us a favour by not selling it off.

Go to q’beyan and see how great the service is.

Wake up people. Privatisation is not the answer here.

As for the pay and conditions… if your a full-time driver then yes, your lucky. Think of all the other drivers, the 40% that are part-time and doing shifts. The pay isn’t so great then.

I’m just sayin…

Reason #871 why I don’t catch buses.

@thehutch

out of curiosity, how often do you catch a bus?

Time to for the Government to grow some balls and privatise ACTION. There’s no doubt that an ACTION bus driver is overpaid and their conditions, in conjunction with poor Government vision, leave Canberra with a 3rd rate public transport system.

Must be a better way.