PSA supports RMTU industrial action in Wellington

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi has sent a message of support to the Rail Maritime and Transport Union ahead of industrial action in Wellington tomorrow.

Members of the RMTU will strike for 24 hours from 2am tomorrow, after months of negotiations with Transdev Wellington and Hyundai Rotem, the rail network’s operators.

There will be no train services tomorrow across the region and no replacement bus services.

PSA National Secretaries Glenn Barclay and Erin Polaczuk have told RMTU’s general secretary Wayne Butson that the PSA supports the strike.

"Our members in Wellington will be affected by the strike but I am sure that they understand the position that the RMTU and its members have been put in," Mr Barclay and Ms Polaczuk say.

"We know unions are reluctant to take industrial action and we know this will have been a last resort for the RMTU."

The PSA has asked the State Services Commission to encourage public sector employers to be constructive and understanding of the problems some employees may face tomorrow.

"We know that this dispute is part of a wider problem of competitive tendering arising from the last government’s Public Transport Operating Model.

"That makes public transport workers’ pay and conditions vulnerable to this kind of pressure."

ENDS

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