The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has confirmed this morning that last-minute negotiations held yesterday were unable to prevent planned bus driver strikes from occurring in Victoria next week for CDC Victoria drivers.
However, Dyson Group drivers won’t be part of the planned industrial action as there appears to be movement in their negotiations.
This means Victorian bus services will yet again be impacted from Monday as a second 24-hour stoppage occurs on June 16.
Victorian commuters have been warned to prepare for further disruptions on CDC Victoria bus services throughout the state due to the negotiations being unable to diffuse tensions between the two parties.
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The TWU says its member-led negotiating committee, including union delegates from depots around regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne, met with CDC Victoria on Thursday to progress drivers’ claims on pay and conditions. Unfortunately, discussions failed to deliver the progress that workers wanted to see.
With no agreement made, CDC drivers will push ahead with a second 24-hour stoppage on Monday.
However, this won’t include Dysons drivers as the TWU says the operator has reached an agreement on its new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).
The new agreement was voted up by a majority of Dysons drivers yesterday, with 51 per cent in support of the offer and 49 per cent against.
The agreement delivers pay rises of 13 per cent over three years, increases to allowances and a commitment on overtime parity. This was the original offer that Dysons has consistently made to its drivers since the EBA negotiations began earlier this year.
Dysons says despite the union placing “significant pressure” on drivers to reject the proposal for a second time, the agreement was made. If it was rejected again, the operator says it would have protracted the dispute, leading to further disruptions.
Dysons CEO Andrew Jakab says it’s disappointing that the union refused to submit a counteroffer to the current proposal after it fell short in the first vote on May 9. He says this prolonged the dispute “unnecessarily” and at significant cost to Dysons and its drivers.
“As a family-owned business with over 73 years of delivering quality public transport and charter bus services, we’re committed to maintaining a reliable, high-quality service,” Jakab says.
“That’s why we’ve been working constructively since January to finalise a new EBA as soon as possible.
“We’re pleased that in a choice between more unpaid strike action and a guaranteed immediate wage increase of nine per cent, with a minimum 13 per cent over three years, our employees chose the latter. The offer is the most competitive in the industry and with its acceptance will deliver immediate financial benefits to drivers, who have already lost close to $2,000 in higher wages since April 1 when the agreement could have taken effect.
“With agreement reached we look forward to continuing to deliver Victorian public transport and charter bus passengers the high-quality services they have come to expect, and for which we are grateful to our drivers and broader Dysons workforce for consistently delivering.”
TWU director of organising in Victoria and Tasmania Sam Lynch has urged CDC to present an improved offer for workers to seriously consider.
“Although the Dysons agreement falls short of what we would have liked, members should be proud of the progress we made. The fight to lift pay and conditions across Victoria’s bus industry is not over yet,” he says.
“Negotiations are ongoing at CDC, and the TWU will not stop until we have secured real improvements to pay and conditions for every driver. We’re putting CDC and the entire bus industry on notice.
“We want to get this resolved as quickly as possible. But we also want to see a deal that gives bus drivers the respect they deserve.”
The union says it isn’t ruling out further strike action in the future if CDC doesn’t come to the table, with Monday’s planned strike set to significantly disrupt bus routes and charter services around Ballarat, Mildura, Oakleigh, Wyndham Vale, Sunshine, Tullamarine and Geelong.
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