Opinion by Jared Abbott of FIRST Union The familiar pattern of bad faith bargaining by bosses, industrial action by workers and bus cancellations for passengers could be avoided once and for all if we are able to learn from recent clashes in Wellington and deal with ultimate culprit – the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) – which is currently being reviewed by the Government. As part of the Government’s review of PTOM, FIRST Union has submitted that private contracting of essential bus services to companies like NZ Bus, Go Bus and Ritchies has resulted in stagnating wages, inefficiency, precarity of employment and that PTOM is unlikely to be fit for purpose in a future that requires compliance with climate change goals as well as fairness for transport workers.