STA swings the axe in roster carnage

Route Optimisation impacting rosters was incorporated in the Bus Operators Award back in 2007.  STA has had six years to phase in changes in an orderly fashion, but in their usual pathetic state of hopelessness, the bureaucrats sat on their backsides and did virtually nothing.

Now, in a vicious attack on their own employees, STA are using the bulldozer approach to implement optimisation in one fell swoop.  They are destroying many rosters and in the process destroying the lives of drivers and their families.

The children and family members of many drivers will be affected as the rosters they build their lives and commitments around disappear.

In the worst example of what amounts to workplace thuggery, 60 drivers will be displaced in the Kingsgrove depot.  Most of these drivers have given their entire working life to STA – several with 30 or 40 years service.

Such a cold, savage attack is unprecedented and looks suspiciously like payback after the union rejected the Rowley reforms, which members should note are a completely separate issue.

State Transit’s overpaid henchmen can hide behind the excuse of “improved efficiencies” and everybody agrees dead running should be minimised, but there is no excuse for the way employees are being treated during this bloody-minded implementation.

The union executive, which is comprised of representatives from every depot are currently engaged in a series of “crisis” meetings in an effort to mitigate the pain as much as possible.

Given the optimisation clause is in the award, it would be extremely difficult to stop the roster changes but we will never, ever forget the disgusting and unnecessarily aggressive treatment of our members.

 Drivers now have zero respect for STA Management.