Region 6 Bargaining update
This week your bargaining representatives met with Transit Systems on Tuesday the 8th of March. Unfortunately, the imminent transition of Region 9 in the East has meant a lot of depot meetings there so unfortunately a bulletin was not able to be sent.
The negotiation meeting was taken up with discussion about the TWU Agreement that the #900 drivers work under. The company refuses to bargain for a single set of conditions for all employees and are standing firm against the idea of the Copied State Award being the basis for negotiation. Because of this it got a little ridiculous. We’d discuss a section of the #900 driver conditions and would put forward the Copied State Award version instead, to which the company would say no. It seems like we’re driving in circles, so region 6 delegates and officials are having a strategy meeting with lawyers next week to discuss options going forward.
Now that the TWU have dedicated more resources to Region 6 and are actively leading their members and conducting depot meetings etc, a united plan of action can be out together that maximises our strength and sends a clear message to the company, government and public. Bus drivers need more than the ‘thanks for your work in the pandemic’, thanks are free to give, what we need are fair conditions for all workers!
A bulletin will follow the planning meeting next week.