New Zealand: Lockout of Wellington bus drivers lifted after court ruling
Last Thursday, New Zealand’s biggest public transport company, NZ Bus, announced an indefinite lockout of about 280 drivers in Wellington who were to hold a 24-hour strike the following day against attacks on wages and conditions.
The Tramways Union filed an injunction with the Employment Court, which on Saturday ordered that the lockout be lifted. The court ruled that there was “an arguable case” that NZ Bus’s lockout notice was unlawful.
Bus drivers picketing outside the Wellington depot
Bus services have resumed but the pay dispute remains unresolved. The company said it would not rule out more lockouts if there was not “significant progress” on pay talks this week. The talks will be mediated by the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), chaired by the Labour Party’s Daran Ponter, which contracts NZ Bus for services in the capital.
The merchant bankers at First Capital, owner of NZ Bus, will be hoping their PR gurus will have a bit more fizz and bite than their carbonated namesakes. Given how last week’s NZBustastrophe ended, NZ Bus either received very bad PR advice from Thompson Lewis or else ignored very good PR advice from Thompson Lewis and locked out its drivers. It is quite difficult to unite GWRC (Greater Wellington Regional Council), the mayor, his councillors, the Tramways Union, the Combined Trade Unions, the minister of transport and the vast majority of the city’s highly annoyed bus commuters – but NZ Bus has done it.
Wellington bus drivers are back on the roads after a lockout was overturned, and will continue to work while mediation takes place between the union and their employer, NZ Bus.
Saturday, 24 April 2021, 4:44 pm
Tramways Union members will be heading back to driving
duties tomorrow following an Employment Court ruling which
brings an end to NZ Bus’ indefinite lockout.
Greater
Wellington Chair Daran Ponter calls the ruling a victory for
common sense and says the decision will pave the way for
much more positive negotiations in the coming
weeks.
“This is the news that Wellingtonians,
politicians, business owners and retailers needed to hear.
The lockout was threatening to leave thousands of
Wellingtonians in the lurch and have a real impact on our
region’s economy.
“We’ve put the living wage on