Council welcomes decision to cease industrial action

Waikato Regional Council has welcomed a decision by Go Bus and First Union to cease further industrial action.

It means buses will operate as normal from tomorrow (Saturday, 24 November).

The decision by Go Bus and First Union was confirmed late this afternoon and follows a series of meetings throughout the day. The industrial action has been the result of an ongoing pay dispute between Go Bus and First Union drivers.

“The decision to stop any further industrial action is good news for our passengers,” said regional councillor and joint Hamilton public transport committee co-chair, Russ Rimmington.

“While we’ve done all we can to minimise the disruption, passengers have still been affected by significant delays over the past five days,” he said.

“So we know people will welcome news that buses are running to their usual timetable from tomorrow.”

Cr Rimmington said: “This is a situation we’d like to see resolved, but it’s not something we’ve been able to easily intervene in.

“However, we’ve today met with Hamilton City Council, Go Bus and First Union and we’ve agreed to work on options that might help close the gap between what Go Bus can afford and the pay increase union drivers are seeking.”

Cr Rimmington said the details of how that could be done were still being worked through by staff from both councils and would be reported back to the regional council shortly.

“The good news is that there’s goodwill between the parties to get this speedily resolved,” Cr Rimmington said.

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