Bus dispute

Press, 14 December 1985, Page 18

Bus dispute

Sir,—Bill Rosenberg could help the ordinary people of Christchurch by persuading the Tramways Union executive to let the buses go back on the road for the Christmas traffic. Christchurch has no articulated buses and the Auckland allowance relating to this special circumstance does not apply. The Tramways Union’s award has been State-linked for 15 years, and accordingly, along with thousands of other people, the C.T.B. bus drivers’ wages are varied by the State Service Annual General Adjustment. This adjustment has yielded a 15% per cent increase from November 10, 1985, to be increased probably by 3 per cent later. Is Bill Rosenberg claiming that most of the population cannot “live without doing considerable overtime or having their spouses working?” My advice to C.T.B. bus drivers: get back to work and serve the public well through this Christmas period, and read carefully what the employers’ union advocate is saying.—Yours, etc., ' PATRICK NEARY. December 12, 1985.

Sir,—With the buses off the road so many days lately the thought crossed my mind that it was a real pity that it was not happening during the winter, be-

cause I am very sure that there would be a remarkable decrease in the so-called pollution of our city — no exhaust fumes from the buses. I wonder if Mr Neary has given this a thought, and if he has, perhaps the Clean Air Society would not be putting the blame on domestic fires?—Yours, etc., B. J. GOODMAN. December 12, 1985.

Sir,—l like to think that Patrick Neary would find me as cheerful and relaxed a bus driver as he did Bill Rosenberg. I know my regulars do, from the welcome I received after being locked out last week. Apart from nurses, teachers, airline pilots and the police force, there must be score upon score of professions involving varying degrees of stress. Is Mr Neary saying that none of these people like their work? I accept the stress involved in my work, and try to overcome it, but I do not accept the additional stress that a low income puts on my family—Yours, etc., P. J. NISBET. December 12, 1985.