The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions said Fair Pay Agreements would help resolve the country’s bus driver shortage, by making bus driving a more attractive job.
Today the NZ Herald reported the Wellington bus driver shortage was predicted to increase threefold in the coming years.
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said bus drivers in Wellington and across NZ deserved better working conditions.
“We know that bus drivers have poor conditions of employment and are often not treated well, despite how essential they are to our cities’ functioning.
The problems that bus drivers are currently facing – long hours, low pay, short-staffing and health and safety issues – are all industry wide problems and require industry wide solutions, exactly what a Fair Pay Agreement would provide.”
“Without Fair pay Agreements, the bus industry has been engaged in a race to the bottom, and bus drivers have borne the cost of this process”.
“FPAs represent a real opportunity for working people, like bus drivers, who provide essential services to get a better working life and to get the conditions they deserve.”
Fair Pay Agreements, which are set to be passed into law at the end of this year, will create new standards in key industries, including security, hospitality, cleaning, and bus driving.