Bus drivers picket for a second day

Bus drivers picket for a second day following huge community support

Auckland bus drivers who work for Ritchies Murphy will be picketing again today from 3-5pm as part of strike action. The strike will include a BBQ picket - a few hours out of the day where drivers will walk off the job to have some down time socialising, something they don’t often get to do.

LOCATION: Where: St Aiden’s Reserve, Takanini (or 152 Great South Road Takanini)

Excerpt from Time to start caring about the wellbeing of bus drivers on the Union’s online magazine Workers First:

Bus drivers at New Zealand’s major cities struggle to spend time with family due to very long shifts. Drivers are asked to complete split and straight shifts which can see them away from home for 11-14 hours a day. This leaves eight hours for sleep and an hour either side to travel and get ready for work, and keep in mind these drivers are not transporting fruit, they shoulder the responsibility of transporting 50-odd lives day in, day out.

According to the OECD’s Better Life Index for 2017 the average New Zealander working full time is afforded around 15 hours a day for personal care and leisure. That’s for eating, sleeping, socialising and hobbies. Compare this to the above statistics and bus drivers are short-changed five hours a day, suggesting they work some of the longest hours in the country, but not by choice. And that’s the clincher. Bus drivers are not afforded the same everyday rights most of us have; the right to spend time with family, the right to simply have some down time, the right to choose what he or she would like to do with that spare time, the right to be active members of their respective communities, or to have a hobby. Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and bus companies need to recognise that drivers are people with a life outside of work that should be their own to do with what they choose.

- FIRST Union General Secretary Dennis Maga

FIRST Union Transport Organiser Emir Hodzic says the entire bus transport system in Auckland is in complete disarray, but what’s most frustrating about Ritchies Murphy is its refusal to meet at the negotiation table.

“We’ve tried several times and the company continually refuses to meet with drivers. The company has not considered the wellbeing of its drivers for a very long time and it’s an ethical conundrum that desperately needs to be addressed.”

“Everybody should be paid enough to live on with the option of earning more should they chose to work longer hours, that is not happening here, it’s not a choice and it’s eating into their lives.”

Mr Hodzic says despite this, drivers are in high spirits.

“Yesterday’s picket showed drivers the community’s behind them, it felt like every third car was honking at the picket, even the police drove past, turned on their sirens and waved and smiled in support. It was pretty cool to see people care about the wellbeing of others.”

He welcomes locals to come along for support and those in the transport sector to come and speak to drivers about what it’s like to be a bus driver in Auckland.

ENDS

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