Bus commuters to get free ride in Western Sydney, Central Coast amid industrial action
Commuters will get a free ride in parts of Western Sydney and the Central Coast as bus drives escalate their dispute with employer Busways.
Drivers will wear plain clothes and not accept fares for people riding the bus in suburbs including Blacktown, Penrith, Windsor, Gosford and Wyong.
The Transport Workers Union said the action could carry through the rest of this week as they attempted to negotiate a new work agreement with Busways.
TWU State Secretary Richard Olsen said the union had been at the bargaining table for almost a year but this action was aimed at minimising the impact on commuters.
"Our anger is definitely pointed towards this employer and the state government and we don't want to interfere with the community or put them offside", he said.
"They have been with us for many years in our endeavours to get good enterprise agreements".
"We want to keep the community there. So, this action in not collecting fares, not wearing uniforms is the first part of our industrial action campaign".
Mr Olsen said the union would strike if a decision is not made in the next few weeks.
Busways Managing Director Byron Rowe said the company had put what it believed to be three "fair and reasonable" offers on the table in the past few months.
"We want to be clear that we're still in negotiations and working towards a solution", he said.
"In good faith, we have approached Fair Work Australia to meditate conciliation".
Story courtesy of Nine News Digital.
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