Bus drivers across Tasmania will walk off the job again this week, escalating a months-long fight to be paid the same as their public-sector counterparts.
Kinetic bus drivers will strike for six hours on Thursday, stopping work from 6am to 12pm at depots in Hobart and Launceston.
The action is expected to disrupt morning commutes and school runs across both cities.
It marks the second strike this year by Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) members at Kinetic Tasmania, following their first-ever walkout in April.
At the heart of the dispute is the union’s “same job, same pay” demand.
Drivers say they are paid up to $250 less each week than drivers at publicly owned operator Metro, despite doing the same work. The union puts the gap at $6.39 an hour.
The TWU has been bargaining with Kinetic Group since November last year, but says talks have repeatedly failed to deliver a fair offer.
Kinetic operates bus services under contract to the Tasmanian government.
TWU Vic/Tas director of organising Sam Lynch said the action could intensify, with stoppages of up to 24 hours possible if a fair offer is not reached.
“Strike action is always a last resort, but Kinetic bus drivers have been pushed too far for too long,” Lynch said.
“School students and families will face disruptions this Thursday because the company and the Tasmanian government refuse to close a $6.39 an hour pay gap in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.”
Lynch said the April strike had been deliberately timed to avoid affecting students, in the hope a fair offer would follow, but workers were now being forced to escalate again.
“Kinetic bus drivers are shortchanged up to $250 each week for doing the exact same work at a different company,” he said.
“We want to see that gap gone completely.”
