Manning of new buses disputed

Press, 29 May 1982, Page 22

Manning of new buses disputed

PA Auckland The first of Auckland’s new bending buses has arrived, amidst a dispute over pay and manning. The Auckland Regional Authority has bought 20 MAN SG22O articulated buses, worth about $200,000 each. The first bus is being framed up for delivery at the end of June.

However, 'in spite of negotiations over several months, the A.R.A. and the Auckland Tramways Union 'have failed to reach agreement on extra payment and manning for the new buses. Extra payment for drivers and the rostering of a conductor during peak periods

are issues still to be resolved before the buses, which carry up to 100 passengers, can be put into service. Agreement is likely to be

reached on the extra payment but the conductor issue will be more difficult. A.R.A. staff and the chairman of the assessors' committee, Mr Jack McCorquindale, said the A.R.A. would not have considered buying the buses if a conductor was necessary. Their advantage lay in being able to shift more people with lower overheads.

However, the president of the- Tramways Union, Mr Gary Froggatt, said that without a conductor the buses would get “bogged down at bus stops, and the extra time taken would defeat the whole purpose." The dispute has been referred to the Arbitration Court and an industrial mediator and will now be included in the union award talks in Christchurch, during June and July.