Bus drivers strike over pay but school runs not affected

THE bus company whose employees will strike today for four hours says school runs will not be affected.

CDC Victoria bus drivers will walk off the job across the state between 9am and 1pm but management does not know how the strike will impact the routes they operate.

And it could be up to an hour after the strike until the usual timetable on 10 routes in Geelong — most servicing the northern suburbs — is returned.

CDC Victoria bus drivers walked off the job twice last week to protest against the company’s offer of a three-year average wage and superannuation increase of 2.66 per cent.

The Transport Workers Union is calling for a 5 per cent annual increase to wages and superannuation for three years.

Further mediation between the TWU and CDC Victoria at the Fair Work Commission in Melbourne is yet to be set after talks on Friday came to an abrupt end.

“While we are disappointed that the Transport Workers Union have chosen to further disrupt the community that CDC serves, we are glad that the intended stoppage will not affect schoolchildren,” CDC Victoria CEO Nicholas Yap said.

Public Transport Victoria CEO Jeroen Weimar encouraged both parties to continue mediation.

“I apologise to our passengers for the inconvenience, and want to make sure they understand that this means most of the buses CDC Victoria operate will have to be cancelled.”

For more information on bus routes affected visit cdcvictoria.com.au or follow @cdcvictoria on Twitter.