Union says bus rosters ‘illegal’

The Tramways Union has gone to the police over Wellington bus drivers’ work hours, which it says are in breach of employment regulations.

The union says some of Wellington’s Tranzit-contracted drivers are being asked to work illegal shifts, with some rostered on for more than the 14-hour threshold or not getting the paid meal breaks they are entitled to.

The union also said that workers’ rest breaks were not being spread out evenly, as the law required them to be.

Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said that after receiving advice from its lawyers at Wellington law firm Oakley Moran, the union lodged a formal complaint with police on Wednesday, saying the breaches were a ‘‘significant safety issue’’.

The union said that under the Land Transport Act and the Employment Relations Act, a driver was not allowed to be rostered on for more than 14 hours at a time, including breaks.

If a driver was rostered on for more than 13 hours at a time, their meal breaks had to be paid and spread evenly throughout their shift.

But under Tranzit, which took over the majority of Wellington’s commuter bus network this week, there had been frequent breaches of those laws, said O’Sullivan.

He pointed to drivers’ rosters to back up his claim. ‘‘They’re actually in breach of all those regulations, according to our advice, and it’s a significant safety issue apart from anything else.’’

O’Sullivan said one example of an illegal shift included a driver working from 5.30am until 11am, then taking two one-hour breaks over the next 21⁄2-hours, before working another six hours.

Another driver had been seen by a senior manager at fellow operator NZ Bus working at 6am and 10pm the same day – outside the legal 14-hour span.

Tranzit said it had not been made aware of any complaint made to police.

Meanwhile, two Wellington City councillors were less than impressed after their journeys on new double-decker buses were significantly delayed this week.

Councillor Sarah Free said her ride from Island Bay to central Wellington took an hour instead of 30 minutes, while colleague Chris Calvi-Freeman said his trip from Island Bay to Johnsonville was 20 minutes late.

Free claimed that the doubledeckers were holding up traffic because people took extra time to get on and off them but a Metlink spokesman said her trip appeared to be an extreme case, as the buses regularly took the same time as single-deckers on that route.

‘‘We suspect the delay was more likely the result of the specific circumstances of that trip.’’

Various factors could result in delayed services, including passenger loading, road works and traffic congestion, the spokesman said.

Longer loading times had been taken into account for the doubledeckers but an apparent keenness among commuters to ride them had led to higher-than-expected passenger numbers.

‘‘We also know that this is not a typical operating week. Everyone is getting used to the new network, including customers and drivers. That has been slowing services down as people get used to new routes and new vehicles.’’

‘‘Everyone is getting used to the new network, including customers and drivers.’’ Metlink spokesman