Bus drivers who stopped work on Monday morning (September 7) will be paid, the Brisbane City Council has confirmed. Around 100
Bus drivers who stopped work on Monday morning (September 7) will be paid, the Brisbane City Council has confirmed.
Around 100 drivers refused to start work after they were greeted with raw sewage streaming across the Bowen Hills depot.
Brisbane was thrown into chaos as around 5000 inner-city commuters were left stranded by the stop-work action.
Drivers threatened to continue the stop-work action until the Brisbane City Council assured them they would be paid the shift.
Brisbane Public and Active Transport Chairman Jane Prentice says the “small” sewage spill – now the subject of a Council investigation – was completely clean by 9am.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union spokesman Mick Layt told local media portaloos at the depot weren’t emptied over the weekend.
When drivers arrived to work at 4.30am on Monday they found sewage running all over the tarmac.
Layt says the stench was “incredible”.
“Apologies to people who usually get buses to work and the school kids, but no one could expect the workers to walk through that,” he says.
New Farm and West End services were most affected by the drivers’ stop work.
Other routes affected were the 195, 198, 199, 300, 303, 393 and the Doomben rail-bus.
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