Bus drivers to strike again on Thursday

Press, 12 November 1985, Page 1

Bus drivers to strike again on Thursday

Christchurch Transport Board buses will be off the roads again on Thursday, less than a week after the last strike by drivers.

A strike on Thursday could hardly come at a worse time for the board because it is a busy day, and for the Canterbury A. and P. Association, which will be in the middle of its annual three-day show at the Addington Showgrounds. The strike comes on top of a ban by drivers on voluntary overtime, which yesterday delayed some commuters on their way to and from work.

The action is in support of a claim by the Tramway Workers’ Union for a $32 a week industry allowance.

The deputy general manager of the board, Mr Tony Francis, said that because drivers had banned voluntary overtime, the board had had to cancel 10

“assist” trips yesterday. Assist trips are when two buses travel the same route at the same time. Three trips were cancelled yesterday morning and seven yesterday afternoon, said Mr Francis. The board had also cancelled “specials,” or chartered buses, for the rest of the week to ensure that drivers were working on the main routes, he said. Mr Francis said that the danger of cancelling such trips was that those who hired the buses might go elsewhere next time. The board might place advertisements in the news media to explain its side of the dispute as pamphlets giving the drivers’ viewpoint had been pasted in bus shelters, he said.

The national secretary of the union, Mr Henry Stubbs, said that the union executive had been aware that it was Show Week in Christchurch when it chose Thursday for a 24-hour strike. As for the A. and P. Association, it should not be dependent on buses because it was holding a three-day show, he said. The Christchurch Transport Board was one of the “front runners” in the employer group and sooner or later it would have to take the union claim seriously, said Mr Stubbs. He said that he hoped the employers would be prepared to meet the union to resume talks on its claim next week. The union planned to step up its action next week, so that stoppages might be held over two or more days, he said. Mr Francis said that he did not know whether special buses could be arranged to take show patrons to the A. and P. Show tomorrow and on Friday. It would depend on the number of drivers available. The long-term risk of the action by the drivers was that the board could lose patronage, which would mean it would have to reduce services, and that could mean it would need fewer drivers, Mr Francis said.