The Wellington bus drivers dispute and the case for rank-and-file committees
More than a week ago, drivers employed by NZ Bus in Wellington voted against a sellout deal hatched by the Tramways Union and management. The offer, the third that the drivers have rejected, would have increased hourly wages to just two dollars above the legal minimum, while cutting overtime and weekend rates.
Bus drivers picket during the April 23 lockout in Wellington [Credit: WSWS Media]
During the ratification meeting on June 23, drivers angrily denounced the union for promoting the agreement in the media, and for seeking to pressure workers into approving it. Union officials had distributed a memo declaring that if drivers voted against the rotten deal, they would face drawn-out industrial action with no chance of a better offer.