Bus drivers get offer of cash carrot

NZ Bus is offering Wellington bus drivers a cash payment of between $5000 and $10,000 each if they give up valuable benefits in a proposed new collective agreement, according to documents sent to drivers and seen by The Dominion Post.

The offer could split the workforce before a crucial union meeting when drivers will vote on whether to accept the deal or launch another round of strikes.

Drivers with more than five years of service would be eligible for the full $10,000, split over two payments, while those with less than five years’ service would receive $5000.

The base pay rate would rise from the current $19.29 an hour plus allowances to $22.10 an hour, or $24 for drivers with more than six months’ service, according to the documents. However, the new offer does come with a price.

The proposed new deal slashes overtime pay and additional benefits that can be worth thousands of dollars a year to drivers.

The Tramways Union has come out strongly against the offer after initially remaining neutral. ‘‘We are not going to be recommending it,’’ Tramways secretary Kevin O’Sullivan said.

He predicted the offer would be rejected by drivers, triggering another round of industrial action. ‘‘It doesn’t cut it . . . we are opposed to selling terms and conditions philosophically.’’

The upfront payment would make up for only about a year of lost earnings for most, he added.

The documents show that under the proposed new deal, drivers will no longer be entitled to double-time pay on weekends and after midnight, and overtime pay will drop to time and a quarter after 10 hours on the clock.

Annual leave will drop to four weeks for newly hired drivers, though existing employees will retain five weeks of leave a year.

Employment lawyer Chris Scarrott said direct payments in exchange for the loss of terms was common practice in individual agreements but it was rare in collective agreements.

The previous offer put to drivers by the company did not involve an upfront cash payment and was overwhelmingly rejected by 204-2 at a meeting in April.

That led to a 24-hour bus driver strike, which was met with a lockout by NZ Bus, before being halted by an injunction in Employment Court.