NZ Bus, which is the principal bus company for Auckland, announced today that it had been advised by FIRST Union and the Tramways Union that its members proposed taking strike action between 4:30am on December 7 and 4am on December 24.
During this period, the roughly 800 drivers intend not to collect fares or work the electronic ticketing systems. The unions are calling for a fairer contract process, saying the current model is resulting in drivers having to take pay cuts and work in poor conditions. First Union and Tramway members who work for Go Bus - another bus company - last week committed to not collecting fares. But NZ Bus says it "cannot afford to operate while no fares are collected". "Unfortunately, this means that NZ Bus will need to suspend all services until this industrial action is resolved, which means that striking workers will be suspended for this period," a statement said. "NZ Bus is unable to pay driver wages for the sustained period of time indicated in the strike notices, while no fares are being collected." The company has a long-term contract with Auckland Transport with a 36 percent market share. "NZ Bus is contractually obliged to collect fares on behalf of Auckland Transport. If our drivers do not collect fares, then we cannot afford to operate the buses," said chief executive Barry Hinkley. He said that the company was open to finding a solution with the unions and wanted to meet with them on Monday. Hinkley said NZ Bus drivers are currently the highest paid of any urban bus drivers in Auckland. "We have a higher base rate and we also make sure that overtime is compensated for too. We value our team and we want them to be happy working for NZ Bus. "We are in communication with Auckland Transport to ensure that passengers understand the situation and we apologise to those affected by the disruption. We would like to see this situation fixed as quickly as possible." Auckland Transport released a statement confirming the suspension and said an offer from NZ Bus to the unions on Thursday had not been accepted. "NZ Bus operates some of Auckland Transport’s busiest routes along Dominion, Sandringham, Mt Eden and Manukau Roads, as well as other routes across the wider Auckland region and the LINK services." More information about what routes are affected can be found on Auckland Transport's social pages and website. Jared Abbott, FIRST Union secretary for Transport, Logistics, Operations and Manufacturing, said drivers had received massive support over the last week. "We've had constructive conversations with drivers and operators over the last week, as well as stakeholders like Auckland Transport, and we're hopeful that a resolution isn't too far away," he said. "We're hoping that negotiations over the coming weeks will be focused on lifting the standards for all Auckland bus drivers and fixing the broken system that put them in this position."
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Auckland Seniors & Travel Expo
Neighbourhood locals are invited to the Auckland Seniors & Travel Expo, a relaxed and welcoming event bringing lifestyle, leisure, and travel together under one roof. Meet 50+ exhibitors showcasing travel ideas, retirement living, mobility solutions, health services, finance, and local clubs. Enjoy live music from Kulios, café seating, door prizes, and be in to win a Luxury Beachfront Escape for Two to Rarotonga.
North Harbour Stadium
28 February & 1 March
10:00am – 3:00pm
$10 entry
Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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60% Yes, supporting people is important!
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25.7% No, individuals should take responsibility
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14.3% ... It is complicated
Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???
“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.
On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.
[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.
Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.
Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”
Full article: www.theguardian.com...
If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.
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