Newcastle members targets of misguided abuse

Several Newcastle bus drivers found themselves the unfortunate victims of unacceptable abuse on Monday when some uninformed members of the public decided it was ok to hurl abuse at them for simply doing their job.

Newcastle RTBU members were not part of the protected industrial action being taken in Sydney and Newcastle, but unfortunately some members of the public – perhaps as a result of miscommunication via local media – seemed unaware of that and hurled abuse at members simply for driving their buses.

Daniel Jaggers, President of the Tram and Bus Division of the RTBU NSW said it was an unfortunate situation and one that he hopes will never be repeated.

“It’s disappointing that good union members would end up on the receiving end of such abuse,” Mr Jaggers said.

“These members of the public were clearly supportive of union action which is great, but their target was way off this time.

“RTBU Newcastle members were not part of the action being taken in Sydney this week, so they were driving their buses as usual. It was disappointing to see them abused in such a way, but we’re hopeful that better communication in the future will help alleviate such problems.

“We’re looking forward to public support in the region if and when Newcastle members are forced down the route of protected industrial action in the future.”