Metro Tasmania bus drivers are set to receive a pay rise of 20.5% over the next three years, ending a period of industrial action and resolving a long-standing dispute.
The new enterprise bargaining agreement between Metro and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) will see drivers receive a 13.5% increase in the first year, followed by 3.5% increases in both the second and third years.
RTBU Tasmanian Branch Secretary Byron Cubit said the deal, if accepted, will help Metro “attract and retain staff”.
“It’s been a long and difficult negotiation, but we now believe we have reached proposed enterprise agreement that is worthy of being put to bus drivers for their consideration,” he said.
One of the key sticking points in the negotiations was a dispute over a 10% ‘temporary’ pay rise granted last year.
Cubit said Metro had agreed to implement it and ‘critical incident leave’, a first for Australian bus drivers.
“Ultimately, the RTBU wants Metro Tasmania to succeed and to get back into a position where it can deliver more frequent and reliable services to the community,” he said.
“Despite the breakthrough in the enterprise agreement negotiations, we are disappointed that the state government has not offered to put more funding into Metro Tasmania.”
Labor’s Shadow Minister for Transport Meg Brown is onboard with the agreement, which comes after Metro passengers were subjected to several incidents of industrial action in recent weeks.
“Hopefully today is the first stop of many on a journey to a better public transport system for Tasmanians and better conditions for the drivers,” she said.
The agreement will now be put to a vote by RTBU members.
