The ACT Government and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) have reached an in-principle agreement on the new enterprise agreement for ACTION workshop staff.
The new agreement will provide workers with a 2.5% pay rise, as well as a $650 sign-on bonus.
The long-running pay dispute had an effect on Canberra commuters last month when an AMWU overtime ban saw buses going unfuelled and un-repaired on weekends, resulting in services being reduced and canceled on weekends, as well as restricting bus availability on some Monday morning peaks.
Newly appointed Minister for Territory and Municipal Services Simon Corbell said that the deal provides a greater level of flexibility in staff rostering, and would improve service reliability.
“This is a win for ACTION, a win for the AMWU and most importantly a win for the traveling public,” he said.
“This means no more industrial action by workshop staff and that means we won’t see the work bans that we’ve seen in previous weekends that have led to service disruptions on weekends in particular.
“The government wants to restore confidence in the ACTION bus service and this is the first step in achieving that.”
Rosters will be provided further in advance to ensure staff availability on weekends to conduct essential maintenance.
Negotiations remain ongoing with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and ACTION Drivers over their pay claim, and have threatened industrial action if an agreement cannot be reached.
“It is now important that agreement is reached with the Transport Workers Union to ensure the continued delivery of bus services to the Canberra community,” Mr Corbell said.
“Both parties remain committed to reaching agreement as soon as possible and will continue to meet on a regular basis.”
Discuss this topic at ACT Bus Forum and Read the Minister’s Press Release
This page was last updated on 26 April 2021
